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Opinion — page 2

Tom Button
Columns, Opinion

Editor’s Note: Where are the big ideas?

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the reasons why agriculture has mainly adapted so quickly to COVID-19 is that farmers are used to dealing with black swans. But it isn’t the only reason. Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t want to underestimate the real pain that some sectors have faced. Whether that’s the logistical nightmare of beef processing or the […] Read more
“The windfall to the seed industry comes from the pockets of their farm customers.”
Guide Business, Opinion

Driving up the cost of seed

Is the new Seeds Canada getting foisted on farmers just to make us boost seed company profits?

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes The summer of 2020 will go down in history for changing the fundamentals of grain production in Canada. And it seems many farmers are not even aware this is happening. I am talking about the ratification of Seeds Canada. I hear you ask, “Who, or what, is Seeds Canada?” Seeds Canada is the proposed name […] Read more
Tom Button
Opinion

Editor’s Note: At its core, agriculture is winning

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes Are farmers more alike, or more different from each other? Hmmm… those might be the only questions you can ask on every farm across the country and get the same sorts of answers. You can slice agriculture in so many ways, i.e. by commodity sectors, by sales volumes, by the farmer’s age, by technology usage… […] Read more
Opinion: Canada has many research success stories — but there should be more
Opinion

Opinion: Canada has many research success stories — but there should be more

If we can’t bridge the farmer-researcher gap, we’re leaving money on the table

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every year around the world, billions of dollars, euros, yen and yuan are spent on agriculture research. In Canada alone, public funding of “research in support of agriculture,” to quote the federal government, topped $557 million in the 2016-17 fiscal year. That figure may wax and wane with the budgetary vagaries of government, but it’s […] Read more
Tom Button
Opinion

Editor’s Note: More different, more the same

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes COVID-19 has brought our differences into the spotlight. For all sorts of reasons, no two farms have been affected in exactly the same way. And yet… Sometimes it’s because the commodities they produce are different. Obviously, anyone with hogs has some different concerns than grain farmers. Sometimes too it’s because of differences in how we […] Read more
Tom Button
Opinion

Editor’s Note: What it means to farm in Canada

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes With coronavirus, we’re finally seeing that there actually is such a thing as a Canadian farmer, not just a Western or an Eastern farmer, or a crop or a livestock farm. Is there something that makes all Canadian farmers more like each other than like American or Australian or French farmers? It’s a question we’ve […] Read more
The information landscape is changing, and some organizations are exploring new ways of offering that information to farmers other than traditional methods.
Guide Business, Opinion

Who’s getting educated?

It’s time for ag suppliers to get as good as farmers at technology, and to treat us with the respect we have earned

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes Technology and big data have changed nearly every facet of agriculture. My tractor performance is continually monitored, not only by the operator but by the manufacturer. If the operator slips the clutch or stalls the tractor while under load, I can expect an immediate notification on my cell phone. If it’s anything more serious, a […] Read more
Tom Button
Opinion

Editor’s Note: How do we choose farms to profile?

By
Reading Time: 2 minutes Country Guide is built on the belief that the real energy driving the evolution of agriculture is the individual farm, making its decisions one decision at a time. It has a drama all its own. I get asked sometimes how we choose the farms that we profile in Country Guide, but I haven’t addressed the […] Read more
As farmers head into spring seeding and livestock is raised and brought to market, it’s comforting to see that Ottawa is recognizing the importance of their efforts.
Opinion

Opinion: The changing conversation around food 

Stating that food security is critical during the COVID-19 crisis means farm issues won't be sidelined

By
Reading Time: 3 minutes On one hand, the federal government stated the obvious when it identified the food system as one of the 10 critical infrastructures supporting Canadians during the pandemic crisis. After all, who can survive without food? Nevertheless, the guidance document issued by Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair this week sent an important signal, […] Read more
To claim that the carbon tax will put farmers out of business is simply feeding a political firefight. – Gerald Pilger.
Guide Business, Opinion

The carbon tax and how farmers can truly mitigate climate change

Take a deep breath. The real numbers don’t come close to justifying the anger of groups like APAS

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes “If the treatment doesn’t kill you, the disease will!” I can’t remember when I first heard this saying, or who said it but given the recent carbon tax costing by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS), it seems an apt analogy. First, some background. In 2017, APAS hosted the Prairie Agricultural Carbon Summit, where […] Read more

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