For the next year, this column will mark The Western Producer’s 100th anniversary by taking a deep dive every week into a past issue of the paper. The main front page headline in the July 27, 2017, issue said it all: “Dry summer, early harvest.” High temperatures, extremely dry field conditions and lack of rainfall […] Read more
Opinion
Wildfire threat requires preparation
Picture the scenario where you must suddenly abandon everything, gather your children and evacuate your work and home. This fear of leaving home or community is shared by 63 per cent of Canadians, as revealed in a spring survey conducted by First Onsite Property Restoration. In the Weather and Property Survey, Canadian residents also admit […] Read more
Canada’s regulatory model slows innovation on the farm
Glacier FarmMedia – In early July, Manitoba Pork Council general manager Cam Dahl argued in an opinion piece that Canada’s product approvals process puts producers at a competitive disadvantage. “Farmers in competing countries like the U.S. have rapid access to new products and technologies, while the slow pace of regulatory approval in Canada can block […] Read more
Looming rail strike threat must be addressed now
It’s never a good idea to count your chickens before they hatch — or in the case of grain farmers, seeds before they’re in the bin — but it looks like a bumper crop might be on the way. Lots of growing season remains, obviously, but the harvest outlook is brighter than it’s been in […] Read more
Immediate expensing: now you see it, now you don’t
It feels like just yesterday we were all adapting to the new immediate expensing rule and strategizing how to use it to our benefit, and now here we are, bidding it farewell. Immediate expensing allowed certain capital additions to be entirely expensed in the year they were purchased. This was applicable for eligible property acquired […] Read more
Better get ready for another Trump presidency
The assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump will have wide-ranging ramifications, including important impacts on Canadian agriculture. As farmers, we tend to fixate on the weather, crop development and the direction of grain prices, but international events such as this shooting set the stage for the years ahead. Any doubt about Trump regaining […] Read more
Look back at July 16, 2015, issue
For the next year, this column will mark The Western Producer’s 100th anniversary by taking a deep dive every week into a past issue of the paper. The fight against clubroot got more complicated nine years ago. The introduction of resistant varieties had appeared to solve a lot of canola growers’ problems, but a story […] Read more
Capital gains tax hike wide reaching
A lot of Canadians are finding out they’re richer than they think, at least according to the tax man. The way the Trudeau government is pitching its capital gains tax hike, you’d think it’s only affecting Canada’s richest 0.13 percent of taxpayers. Unless you own your own private jet, you shouldn’t have anything to worry […] Read more
![There’s a good chance the [U.S. Supreme] court’s judges — eight of which graduated from either Harvard or Yale law schools — might very well determine whether your crop insurance claim is valid or if your neighbour can legally spread manure on his hilly pasture next to your family’s well. | Getty Images](https://static.producer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/17170539/10-US-Supreme-Court-GettyImages-1467652722-660x420.jpg)
U.S. courts poised to take over agricultural policy decisions
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 40 years of legal precedence and redirected federal power from government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the courts and Congress. Big Ag loved the news. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association “celebrated the ruling,” and Big Meat’s lobbyist saw it as the bullet to […] Read more
Open trade doors,and keep them open
It’s a complicated world out there, including the one in which Canadian agricultural producers market their products. But are they prepared for the shifting landscape? Because shifting it is. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization recently released a report called Agricultural Outlook 2024-33. One of its […] Read more
