Canadian agriculture has some of the most climate-friendly practices on the planet, yet our producers struggle to succeed under an international trade regime that doesn’t reward this success. As a relatively small nation with a heavy reliance on export trade, Canadian farmers benefit more than most from assured market access within a disciplined trading environment. […] Read more
Tag Archives WP editorial — page 9
Carbon tax controversy raises further questions
Carbon pricing in this country — what most of us call the carbon tax — continues to be a political lightning rod. It has become increasingly popular for premiers, the leader of the federal opposition and farm groups to blame a wide range of problems on the tax. A follower of current affairs could easily […] Read more
Faster product registration requires cautious approach
Canadians have a complicated relationship with government regulations, which are often a lightning rod for complaints about how Big Government gets in the way of efficiency, productivity and innovation. But then a catastrophe happens, such as a contaminated water crisis, and it suddenly becomes government’s fault for not keeping a close enough eye on the […] Read more
Ways must be found to retain immigrants
Labour shortages in the agricultural industry continue to attract considerable attention. We covered it most recently on the front page of the Nov. 9 issue, which reported on a new survey from the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. The results were predictably grim: 28,200 jobs unfilled during peak season in 2022, resulting in a 3.7 […] Read more
Knowing what to believe or believing in nothing
A growing body of evidence links prolonged sitting to health problems such as obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and unhealthy cholesterol levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, too much sitting also increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Sitting is the new smoking, as […] Read more
Producers capable of their own snake oil savvy
There is a fine line between protecting farmers and getting out of the way so they can help themselves. This is aptly illustrated in a 10-year-old decision by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to stop testing the efficacy of some agricultural inputs. In 2013, the agency said it would no longer conduct comprehensive testing and […] Read more
Commodity group tackles thorny research question
Where have all the crop scientists gone? The Manitoba Crop Alliance asked that question after looking for places to park some of its check-off money. The group wanted to fund research into specialty crops such as flax, corn and sunflowers but couldn’t find scientists to do the work. Agriculture Canada no longer employs a researcher […] Read more
‘Are you a farmer?’ The answer may surprise
A farmer posted a story on Twitter earlier this year about a salesperson who visited the farm and asked her if the “man of the farm” was available. Yet this particular farmer was more than qualified to conduct business. One would hope this type of story had gone the way of the dodo bird, but […] Read more
King Wheat regains crown from former Cinderella crop
The struggle by farmers to retain the right to save their own seed is long and tumultuous. There are past debates over UPOV-91, plant breeders’ rights, and most recently, variety use agreements. Ensuring farmers retained the ability to save their own seed was a major part of many of these discussions. The latest salvo was […] Read more
Hope and history are not a water shortage plan
In August we wrote in this space about the need for better water management. At that time, it was already dry in much of the Prairies, and getting drier by the day, but we didn’t pull the fire alarm. The editorial instead listed ways farmers were conserving water and additional ways they could do more. […] Read more
