Soil health is a phrase the general public can get behind, even though most producers and agronomists would have trouble describing what it is in exact terms. That’s not because they don’t know. It’s because there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to healthy soils. Most agree on one thing: the more organic matter there […] Read more
Tag Archives WP editorial
The smell of money not embraced by all
Agricultural operations have changed a great deal in the past 30 years and so has public sentiment about them. Even in Western Canada, where populations are less dense and many have farming memories, the not-in-my-backyard sentiments can be found pretty easily. In some cases, the risk of nutrient movement into local watersheds is real but […] Read more
Canada says ‘no thanks’ to European-style agriculture
Shifts to organics and heavy restrictions on the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are paving a path to unsustainable agriculture in Europe, leading to lower production and reduced food security. Canada is not headed in that direction. Despite some pundits’ assertions to the contrary, this country is not restricting food production. The recent focus […] Read more
Prairie tidewater port deserves more attention
Getting to tidewater quickly and reliably makes exporters successful. Whether it’s ore, wood, processed materials or oil and gas, ocean ports are keys that unlock profits. Crops, fertilizers and other bulk cargo are among the most susceptible to high transportation costs. And when it comes to these, every penny of costs comes out of farmers’ […] Read more
The rumoured version of the Great Reset isn’t coming
There was a time when the World Economic Forum was a target for only the left side of the political spectrum. In the past few years the right side has started suggesting the WEF is out to get all of us. Could it be that the WEF isn’t out to get anybody? Complicated conspiracy theories […] Read more
Trust in government is taking a beating
Lack of clarity in the federal government’s plan for agricultural greenhouse gas reductions hasn’t generated a lot of trust from farmers who, for the most part, don’t have much trust in the government to begin with. That said, provincial politicians are willfully misleading producers and the public in order to take advantage of the situation. […] Read more
Taxation could be costly weapon in war on meat
Canadian governments have largely avoided taxes on grocery items but there is a suggestion in other parts of the world that meat and dairy should be taxed as a way to address climate change. Case in point, a recent opinion piece entitled “A meat tax is probably inevitable – here’s how it could work,” by […] Read more
Rail system more efficient, but excuses still offered
Canada’s Class 1 railways have a curious relationship with their grain haul capacities. When there was little competition for their services through some of the worst days of COVID-19, they were able to meet deadlines, boost capacity and set records for grain movement. When higher paying freight, such as oil and consumer cargo, was slowed […] Read more
Feeding the future is all supply and demand
The global population was expected to reach eight billion in November 2022. That might have happened six months early. As with many population forecasts, predictions are reached earlier than expected. Twenty years ago, we were told the world’s population would pass nine billion by 2050 but now the United Nations estimates it will likely be […] Read more
Fertilizer use not the same as fertilizer emissions
The fertilizer ban that never was is politics, pure and simple. The fertilizer emissions reduction target is science, like it or not. A 30 percent reduction in fertilizer emissions is not the same as a 30 percent ban on fertilizer use, despite what social media and many farmers have been led, or choose, to believe. […] Read more
