Really? Do we need more legislation about trespassing in Saskatchewan? Or is this just another ploy to speak to a voter base? Think about how public buses and film tax credits in the province were handled and whether governing for the all is taking place or just for the ones that brung ya. I think […] Read more
Opinion — page 2
Exploitive politicians tap into populism
Watch alternative minimum tax trap when selling farm
Government is a strange beast when it comes to taxes. It provides preferential rates on income from dividends, capital gains or even a qualified farm property lifetime capital gains exemption but if you take advantage of these routes to calculating your taxes, government reserves the right to charge you more taxes just because it can. […] Read more
Serious quality problems found in some crops
If your crop came off dry with reasonable quality, count yourself lucky. In some regions and for some producers, quality is going to be a big issue. In Western Canada, fusarium appears to be virtually non-existent this year. After the terrible fusarium issues of 2016 with elevated levels of the vomitoxin DON, particularly in durum, […] Read more
Canada must do more to defend its food quality
It is a salient observation: “Our food has never been safer, ever, in the history of mankind and it’s never been more scrutinized, either.” That timely conclusion comes courtesy of Alberta feedlot owner Les Wall of KCL Cattle Co. while chatting with a Western Producer reporter. It’s timely because we are seeing Canada’s grain reputation […] Read more
Antibiotics survey leaves wrong impression on meat
A CNN report in mid-October started this way: “Six consumer interest groups are now sounding the alarm about the use of antibiotics in meat served at the 25 largest burger chains in the United States.” The issue of antibiotic resistant infections, mainly due to overuse of antibiotics in humans, is important and well-known. The alarm […] Read more
Rising interest rates: what to expect
After almost a decade near historical lows, Canadian interest rates are on the rise. The Bank of Canada, after cutting its policy rate sharply during the late-2000s financial crisis and again during the commodity collapse of 2014-16, has now rolled out a series of rate hikes. Longer-term interest rates are also trending higher, with the […] Read more
Lack of knowledge about agriculture still rife in Ottawa
In agriculture, there’s a lot of talk about the urban-rural divide. Many conversations within the farm community are about how too many people in this country know next to nothing about how the food on their plates gets there. Public trust, sustainability and farm-to-fork have all become popular catchphrases as the agriculture industry tries to […] Read more
This important ag group keeps a low profile
Working quietly behind the scenes on difficult and complicated issues, the Canada Grains Council has become the country’s most important agriculture lobby organization. You may never have heard about it. The council is rarely in the news and most farmers across the country have only a vague notion or perhaps no notion at all about […] Read more
Farm groups delighted as CPTPP ratified
When the House of Commons ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership last week, followed quickly by royal assent, many farm groups reacted with glee. Canada is the fifth country to ratify the agreement — Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand are the others — which encompasses 11 countries and almost 500 […] Read more
Letters to the editor – November 1, 2018
Marijuana oils should be legal Re: Trudeau’s marijuana legalization misses the mark when it comes to medicinal use. The total focus of the liberal marijuana legalization is all about recreation pot smoking. A legal age customer can walk into any government-approved retail outlet and buy all the buds he or she can carry out. Smoke […] Read more
