In the spring of 2018, Health Canada proposed a ban on all agricultural uses of two insecticides, thiamethoxam and clothianidin. Health Canada scientists said the insecticides, known as neonics, were accumulating in ponds, creeks and other water bodies near agricultural land. The concentrations were harmful to midges and mayflies and therefore posed a threat to […] Read more
Tag Archives Blog — page 4
BLOG: Different farming practices won’t stop climate change
On Feb. 22, Canada’s Agriculture Day, the federal government made a major funding announcement to help farmers fight climate change. Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the feds would provide $182.7 million in “direct support to farmers” to encourage the adoption of cover crops, rotational grazing and improving management of nitrogen. These farm practices, supported by […] Read more
BLOG: Trucker unrest result of misguided public policy
Vaccine mandates affecting the trucking industry have understandably prompted a determined and outraged response from a number of Western Canada’s truckers and rural residents. A proportion of Canada’s commercial truckers who drive big rigs are opposed to federal rules that limit their mobility, as well as their ability to earn a living. Similarly, many farmers […] Read more
What the new face of globalization looks like up close
You don’t have to go far from the Prairies to see what globalization looks like up close. In fact, it exists right on your farm, in your fields, your bins and your barns. Farmers don’t need to be convinced that they are an integral part of a global market. Most of what Western Canadian farmers […] Read more
What do we learn from the Meng-Michaels resolution?
We’ve swapped their Meng for our Michaels and everything’s back to normal, right? Probably not. Getting back to a pre-December 1, 2018 normal isn’t likely to ever happen, at least not while China is governed by the Communist party and we are a liberal democracy. The oceans of difference we tried to ignore before the […] Read more
Improving the Prairie
I remember getting my face sandblasted during the drought of the late 1980s. That would happen anywhere in downtown Regina, where the grit and dust and dirt of farm country blew through in ugly blasts, filling a young city lad’s eyes. I remember seeing dirt-drifted ditches across farm country in those days, and my dad […] Read more
Improving the Prairie
I remember getting my face sandblasted during the drought of the late 1980s. That would happen anywhere in downtown Regina, where the grit and dust and dirt of farm country blew through in ugly blasts, filling a young city lad’s eyes. I remember seeing dirt-drifted ditches across farm country in those days, and my dad […] Read more
How do you get ready for normal when you don’t know what’s normal any longer?
Most people are getting ready for things to go back to normal. As the pandemic wanes, at least here in the vaccinated world, most people are expecting life, business, school and society to go back to normal, after almost two years of COVID-19. Some expect it right away and some don’t expect things to normalize […] Read more
Farmers need to make the drought matter – to urbanites
With his voice cracking with emotion, Tyler Fulton described a farm family forced to sell-off their cow herd, a herd produced by years of family effort. For thousands of farmers, this summer’s drought is destroying not only their family’s hopes and dreams, but also their ability to survive on the farm. Without a cow herd […] Read more
BLOG: CETA is working perfectly — for European farmers
Earlier this year, a representative of the Canadian government shared a positive message with farmers in Ireland. Suzanne Drisdelle, chargé d’affaires at the embassy, spoke about the value of the Canada-European Union trade agreement when she addressed an Irish government committee in April. She told the committee that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is […] Read more
