Government Must Stand up for Farmers and Commit to Ending Supply Management – March 25, 2013
Martha Hall Findlay has brought attention to Canada’s system of supply management; a system in which production quotas are allocated to dairy, poultry, turkey and egg farmers, and prices are set by their respective marketing boards. Farmers themselves are the victims of this status quo – particularly export dependent producers in Western Canada.

How would Canadian Prairie Agri-Business deal with a Dalton Minimum Repeat? – January 31, 2013
Ray Garnett analyzes recent data and discusses the role that solar activity plays in shaping summer climates in the Prairie Provinces.

NDP Stuck in the 1930s on CWB – November 30, 2011
Rather than engage in ideological battles and fear mongering, provincial governments ought to help wheat and barley farmers seek new markets and opportunities.

Why the Wheat Board Monopoly is Being Removed – November 20, 2011
As Western Canadian farmers have become larger, more educated, and more sophisticated, they placed greater value on autonomy and freedom of choice, as evidenced by the Conservative sweep of the rural Western vote. Changing economics, demographics, technology, and values have left many farmers desiring “marketing choice” instead of monopoly.

NDP Needs to Look Forward, not Back – July 21, 2011
Rather than use taxpayer-funded ads to fight change, Manitoba should join the rest of the West, as well as other advanced countries, in supporting farmers making their own marketing decisions separate from the Canadian Wheat Board.

We Should Remain Open to All Food Choices – April 21, 2011
Although everyone should have the right to buy the food they want, whether or not those decisions are healthy or environmentally friendly, individual preferences should not be forced on others or be turned into regulations that restrict the choices of farmers and consumers.

Let Us Not Turn Our Backs on Science – March 16, 2011
Regulations based on scientific assessments in agriculture are being ignored in order to privilege unproven opinion, belief and sometimes superstition.

Free Trade with Europe is Good for Canada – February 17, 2011
A free trade agreement with the European Union will enhance Canada’s economy, open up new markets reducing our dependency on the United States, and open doors for a variety of badly-needed reforms in Canada.

Beyond Potash – November 18, 2010
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) controls more than one-fifth of the world's reserves of potash; its home province of Saskatchewan sits on roughly half of that amount. As we move forward, an assessment of our agricultural policies and marketing practices in the context of the rapidly changing world of agricultural commodities is long overdue. The strategy should make sense to all Canadians, both politically and economically.

Climate Changes, Grain Exports and A New World Order in Food – August 19, 2010
There is hardly a crisis in agricultural commodities but rather a continuing recalibration between supply and demand.

Is Our Food Safety System Broken? – April 1, 2010
Slyvain Charlebois argues the debate on food safety should not about the number of inspectors hired but how to build food safety systems that serve the health requirements of Canadian consumers.

How U.S. Protectionism is Killing Canada’s Livestock Producers – September 2, 2009
Canada’s livestock producers are being hurt badly by U.S. country of origin labeling regulations (COOL). Canada must continue to fight these regulations at the WTO.

Food Safety: Quality Matters, Not Just Price – February 26, 2009
In our fast-paced modern social arrangements fewer consumers prepare food for themselves, and these few often with less available time. In filling this demand for convenience, processed foods have become a big part of our diets.

President Obama Is COOLing It – February 17, 2009
Food trade policy is essential to providing variety and affordability to consumers, no matter where they live. The food industry is largely recession-proof, but still vulnerable to external influences. With a president in the White House who seems ready to think more internationally, the virtues of free trade may be fortified. That would be welcome news to the Canadian economy during these worrying conditions.

Governments Sleepwalking Into Water Crisis – November 2, 2008
Governments, if they are not careful, are allowing communities to sleep walk towards a water supply crisis. Governments are not dealing with long term supply needs and are potentially jeopardizing the future economic prospects of rural communities.

Too Chicken to End Supply-Managed Agriculture – July 17, 2008
Canada’s politicians continue to be scared of a small rump of highly organized farmers whose government sanctioned cartel directly harms the interests of most farmers, all consumers and manufacturers.

Rural Tigers Transforming Manitoba Landscape – July 5, 2008
In spite of great odds, many Canadian rural communities, like in rural Manitoba, are experiencing an economic boom and are enjoying population growth, thanks in large part to an influx of newcomers and a regional oil boom.

New Rural Innovators are Future of Rural Canada – June 9, 2008
By relying on the Prairie pioneering ethic of self-sufficiency and independence, these farmers are breaking new ground. Instead of relying on a capital intensive model of farming, these producers are employing a variety of paths to making a living off of a limited land base.

Your Land Is Not Your Land – November 20, 2007
A Manitoba farmer recently lost a precedent setting court case against his local municipal government over the expropriation of his property for economic purposes.

Paying for the Wheat Board – August 21, 2007
The Canadian Wheat Board model has inadvertently cancelled vast opportunities in the higher end, value added part of the agriculture sector.