Tough times in the energy economy have left Alberta’s government in a difficult position. Cuts to nearly every sector were inevitable, no matter what brand of politicians were running the show. But cuts to agriculture are hard to swallow. Given the challenges for the economy, with low returns from mining, oil and gas and manufacturing, […] Read more
Tag Archives WP editorial
Science cannot be seen as a shovel-ready project
The Parliamentary Budget Office isn’t impressed with work done so far by the various research superclusters launched by the federal government in February 2018. Applied science is likely harder to measure than the budget office thought it would be. Science isn’t a shovel-ready project. The five superclusters, created to enhance Canadian capacity for developing technology […] Read more
International trade must become part of our culture
Do you remember when Canada was finally going to be the international trade winner? If your short-term memory isn’t too bad, you should. The Trans-Pacific Partnership listed Canada as its biggest beneficiary — big country, small population, lots of exports. In case we need a little more information, the TPP was an agreement that was […] Read more
Deregulation of hemp production is long overdue
It is madness, not reefer madness, to keep hemp on the Canadian list of restricted crops. Low THC hemp is often referred to as a form of marijuana, with all the gravity that giggling about it will allow. But for Canadian farmers, the restriction is no laughing matter. It’s a restriction on a potential crop. […] Read more
Gov’t must do more on African swine fever front
It’s critical to get the agriculture portion of the next federal budget right. Then Canada can use the relative health of the farm economy to help rebuild the post-COVID future. The things the Trudeau Liberal government identified several years ago as being potential growth areas for the economy remain in place, despite the economic damage […] Read more
Farmers can change quickly if market signals are right
There are many facets to agriculture but the farmers within it generally share a mindset in the ways they respond to market signals. Canadian producers do not differ from their American cousins in that regard simply because the land or the weather is particularly unique. They differ because of public policy. An Ohio-based research company […] Read more
Don’t look to new movie for historical accuracy
Hollywood tells some interesting tales. Some are based on true stories. Others, such as the soon-to-be-released move entitled Percy, appear to be based on untrue stories loosely connected to events. Based on the pre-release movie trailer, the narrative pits a prairie farmer and his collection of home-bred, saved seeds against an evil, multi-national genetics and […] Read more
Merging speed too high for country’s seed growers
Seed growers sent the rest of their trade a message last week — trust for farmers is earned. A multi-year project to bring five groups involved in the seed growing and development business together under one umbrella entity was shut down at the 11th hour by producers. The four other groups involved — the Canadian […] Read more
Livestock sector vital part of big agriculture picture
Agricultural producers tend to have strong beliefs about their independence. However, commercial agriculture is really a team sport. No one element can be left behind without harming the whole. In recent weeks a poll of Canadians revealed that our fellow citizens support agriculture as an industry pretty well but the animal side of the business […] Read more
Canadian ag stabilization due for major overhaul
It might be time to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Too many things may have changed to keep tweaking Canada’s agricultural programs and still expect them to keep the industry stable and serve the interests of all involved. Farmers often feel as though their interests are the only ones to be considered when […] Read more
