TPP will benefit canola and beef?
– Oh please! (When pigs fly) (Oct. 16/15) Some claim beef and canola will benefit from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). As the kids would say with an eye-roll: “Oh please.” A little reality check is in order. First off, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) never had any problem selling into Asian markets. Why? Simply because the CWB and the Canadian Grain Commission guaranteed a...
Read MoreRitz successful in removing farmers’ rights
Giant Agro-chemical seed companies win passage of Agricultural Growth Act (November 28, 2014) Over the past few weeks the farm papers have been full of quotes from Agriculture Minister Ritz claiming he has made the right to save seed absolutely clear in his Agricultural Growth Act (C-18) which was passed in Ottawa this week. In a way he has – although not in the way many may think. With the...
Read MoreMarquis wheat and Marquis lakers
by admin on Nov 27, 2014 in Articles and Letters
by Bill Toews Manitoba Co-operator, November 20, 2014 Charles Saunders developed “Marquis wheat” in 1904. It appeared to be ideal for Canada’s climate and was tested at the Brandon and Indian Head public research stations. It was subsequently released to farmers in 1909. Within a decade, 20 million acres of Marquis wheat were planted from Kansas to northern Saskatchewan. Today, Marquis...
Read MoreGM Wheat Leak
(October 4, 2014) This September the US Department of Agriculture announced it had found unapproved genetically modified (GM) wheat growing in Montana. This new discovery follows a similar discovery in Oregon in 2013 which disrupted US wheat export shipments for a time. These US cases raise red flags for Canadian farmers because the discovery of the glyphosate (trade named “Roundup”) tolerant...
Read MorePrairie culture carved in steel
(June 8, 2014) Sometimes a single act or event can symbolize a whole culture. June 8th is the 66th anniversary of one of those profound acts. And this year’s announcement that the University of Saskatchewan will be closing its law library is one of those events which symbolize a different culture. One of the displays in that law library was the rear fender from a farm tractor which...
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