The following is an excerpt from the executive summary of Agriculture’s Strategic Role in Feeding and Fueling a Growing World, a report prepared by the U.S.-based Farm Foundation. Over the next 30 years, agriculture will be challenged to provide food, fibre and energy to a growing world population. World population is forecast to increase by […] Read more
Opinion — page 698
Agriculture’s 30-year challenge – Opinion
Christmas stockings always fit – Editorial Notebook
Gran was a gifted seamstress and was skilled at needlework. After each of her grandchildren was born, she made them a Christmas stocking. Each stocking was made of red felt, with the name of the child running vertically down its length. Each had a slightly different arrangement of snowmen, sprigs of holly and other festive […] Read more
Letters to the editor
Fertilizer price; Pink worries; Harper & ag; Harper & ag; Wiggle space; Sour gas wells; Give love; Spin doctors; Apology sought; Party system; Paying customers; Desperate acts; ALMS agenda; Wall & coalition Fertilizer price If the fertilizer dealers think that customers will pay double just to be loyal, they should look at it from the […] Read more
Making the most of new tax free savings account – Money In Your Pocket
Tax Free Savings Accounts have arrived to almost universal praise from the financial community. They are recognized as one of the best government initiated tax benefits to be introduced since the creation of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan program more than 50 years ago. The concept is simple. You and your spouse each get to […] Read more
Still intact
Everyone’s been waiting for the bottom to be reached and left behind in the ag commodity markets. For a few days there’s been a nice little rally in the main crop futures markets, and even though today isn’t a great day, the hopes for a rally that eventually makes the early December lows the year’s […] Read more
Canada’s eventual prairie spring advantage
There’s good news for prairie farmers from the head of the North American Millers Association: The association is terrified that the U.S. is going to lose its prairie spring acreage to corn. That’s bad for U.S. millers, who use spring wheat to make bread. But that’s probably good for Canadian prairie farmers, who wouldn’t mind […] Read more
Bio-burp
The mania over biofuels helped drive grain and oilseed prices up, up and further up earlier this year. That makes sense for two reasons: 1) Most biofuels are made from cereal grains (ethanol) or oilseeds (biodiesel); 2) High oil prices sucked up any substitute that could be used to replace them, and biofuels rushed to […] Read more
Bottom fishing
Could we finally have bounced off the bottom? It’s an enticing question to contemplate a couple of weeks before Christmas, as the snow falls and hearts warm and everyone tries to look forward to a new year and the rebirth of hope. Today oil prices have rocketed up off their recent levels – zooming up […] Read more
Partisanship won’t serve country well – WP editorial
MAY THIS season of peace and goodwill work its magic on Ottawa politicians who in recent weeks brought this country to the edge of a political and national unity crisis that true statesmen would have avoided. Canadians are appalled by the antics of politicians of all stripes who have put partisanship and gamesmanship ahead of […] Read more
‘Caretaker’ coalition leader needs prairie credibility – Opinion
THE COLUMN begins with a caveat. At time of writing, the federal Liberal party leadership was in chaos but events will likely have progressed by the time these words are published. Stéphane Dion had announced he is stepping down and the party caucus was trying to figure out whether to elect a caretaker interim leader […] Read more
