The Future of Farming
– September 3, 2012
Tomorrow’s farming will look like today’s, only more so. Crop and livestock yields per acre must triple again to protect wildlife habitat. Biotechnology will be increasingly vital. Confinement feeding will be even more important, to leave room for wildlife. Organic will prove to be a fad, as will locovores and vegetarians. Activists will be less credible than over the past 50 years.
Adapting To Climate Change Through Technology
– October 1, 2009
Norman left us a remarkable legacy. But as he told my daughter, “There is no final answer. We have to keep doing research, if we are to keep growing more nutritious food for more people.” The world, its climate and insect pathogens will continue to change. It is vital that we sustain the incredible agricultural revolution that Norman Borlaug began.
We Need Another Green Revolution
– September 10, 2008
The best news is that high-yield farming will serve humanity and protect our forests whether the climate warms or cools. We ardently agree with Katherine Sierra that science—especially biotechnology—offers the best hope of being able to feed 8-10 billion people (up from the current 6.5 billion) in 2050.
How Bad Government Caused The Food Crisis
– June 10, 2008
Instead of banning exports or providing subsidies, governments should be removing barriers to production and distribution, and letting the market respond effectively to changes in supply and demand.
The World Food Summit: Canada is part of the problem
– June 10, 2008
The food-crisis summit that was held in Rome by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) last week reminds us that the protectionist policies of the industrialized countries are having harmful consequences on the well-being of the world population. Canada, the world's fourth-largest exporter and fifth-largest importer of agricultural products, must show its goodwill by reforming some of its programs that harm trade.
Fewer Farms in Canada: Moving in the Right Direction
– May 23, 2007
The new economic reality is that Canada has too many farms and the recent census shows that Canadian agriculture is gradually moving in the right direction.
Facts and Fiction in the Wheat Board Debate
– January 25, 2007
Those who support the single desk argue in circles. Is the Wheat Board or corporation? Who owns it?
CWB: Keeping Canadian Agriculture Relevant
– January 5, 2007
Many farmers with limited production capacity do not realize the extent to which global trade has changed the way Canada should position itself within world markets.
The Grain Industry Restructures
– November 20, 2006
Obsolete Regulations Restrict Value-added Agricultural Exports
– February 1, 2006
Well-intended regulations on the use of port containers makes their use for shipping food to foreign customers much too expensive.
Sour Milk System
– February 2, 2005
Given that productivity has been rising for centuries in agriculture, one might wonder why we keep paying more for milk instead of less. The reason: These productivity gains are being wasted away in our inefficient supply management system.
BSE: Disaster or Opportunity?
– January 21, 2005
The best way out of the BSE crisis is mandatory testing of every animal.
Global Cooling and Canadian Agriculture
– October 29, 2004
Environment Canada has taken a single scientifically unjustified position on climate change. Logic almost dictates we should plan for cooling. We can adjust to warming with techniques practiced to the south, but nobody is farming north of us.
The Divine Right of Stagnation
– April 10, 2004
Opponents of genetically modified grains claim that their property rights are transgressed when a neighbour's crop migrates onto their land. Manitoba farmer and writer Rolf Penner examines their case.
Pesticides and Pumpkinheads
– November 1, 2003
Has objectivity been replaced by anti-pesticide bias?
Why Doha Must Succeed
– October 6, 2003
One day the majority of people in these countries will wake up and understand how much better off they would be if they did away with farm subsidies and protection. Governments would save themselves billions of dollars. Consumers and taxpayers would get a much better deal and farmers would enjoy freedom and opportunities they do not have now.
Food Safety Independent of Marketing Boards
– April 14, 2003
Defenders of supply management who contend that the policy enhances food safety are wrong.
The European Union’s Crazy Agricultural Policy
– March 26, 2003
Free trade in agriculture and other products would boost both rich and poor countries and save rich countries, particularly those in Europe, a lot of money.
Low Farm Prices Won't Go Away
– August 1, 2002
Continued low grain prices, bad weather and more farm subsidies evoke visions of tractors in the streets and more farm aid concerts on TV.
Pay Farmers to Stop Farming
– August 1, 2001
Subsidies may help grain producers in the short term, but in the long term they perpetuate dependency. What farmers really need is an exit strategy. |
