What is it, exactly, about William DeKay’s eye? It looks much like any other eye. It has an iris and a pupil and lashes — pretty much the usual human thing. Judging by the number of awards that eye brings in, though, it’s very different from most other eyes. Bill won photographer of the year […] Read more
Stories by Joanne Paulson
Russian action sends potash sector reeling
What does Russian potash producer Uralkali know that other producers do not? Or, do the company’s executives simply have a larger number of high-risk genes? All hell broke loose in the markets last week when Uralkali announced it would leave the Belarusian Potash Company cartel with the intention of selling big volumes instead of seeking […] Read more
Readers invited to share stories of good ol’ days
Some of you youngsters out there may not know this, but there was a time when Western Producer subscriptions were purchased with chickens. Other produce also served as payment, back when farms were not churning out any actual cash to speak of. Times have changed, to say the least. The chicken has been replaced with […] Read more
Problematicto confuse pets, food animals
Can people not make the distinction between food and pets? Why is this such a tough concept for celebrities and many urbanites? The most recent example of such people is Ryan Gosling. In the Globe and Mail recently, Gosling — described in the august newspaper as a Canadian actor, director, writer, musician and animal advocate […] Read more
The Producer excited about going video
It’s show time. After occasionally incorporating video on our website over the years, we are finally at the point where you can catch some significant farm-related action at producer.com. We’re not perfect yet, but the strides we’ve made in the last two months — ever since we hired Robin Booker to help push the process […] Read more
Growers need practical wheat research model
Wheat may get its crown back. The thesis underlying the recent Breadbasket Summit in Saskatoon was how to feed the Earth’s billions, but western Canadian wheat took most of the spotlight in the analysis of just how to do that. Are more, better-yielding wheat crops our contribution to solving global hunger? If so, how do […] Read more
The trials and tribulations of flood coverage
I was going to write about a possible new era of wheat in Western Canada this week. Then came the deluge. This column is entitled Editorial Notebook, so I like to use this space for sharing when something out of the ordinary happens behind the scenes at The Western Producer. The Alberta flood was truly […] Read more
Food for thought from Breadbasket conference
What is Western Canada’s role in feeding an ever-more populous world? It sounds like a simple question, but after two days of intense discussion at a recent summit, it now seems to be the most complex issue I’ve ever contemplated. The Breadbasket 2.0 national summit, organized by Canada’s Public Policy Forum, started off with a […] Read more
No meat? Then no steel grinding balls
Country-of-origin labelled meat might get some strange bedfellows. Does it seem odd at all that mattresses are on the list of items that might be targeted for tariffs in retaliation for the U.S. insistence on COOL, which the World Trade Organization has ruled unfairly targets imports? So much for a good nights sleep — not […] Read more
U.S. rebound welcomed by ag, ag-business
Housing prices in the U.S. rose 11 percent in March, the best uptick the country has seen in seven years. Why should you care? Because, as Peter Hall noted in Saskatoon recently, the housing market is a bellwether of what’s going on in the American economy. Hall, who is Export Development Canada’s vice-president and chief […] Read more
