open i

• By Date of Publication 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
• Beef Trade, BSE, Growth Hormones, etc.
• Genetically Modified Crops
• Cereal Markets

Other Topics

1. October, 2009: Grain Growers of Canada - Summer Meeting a summary of the business: featured in the fall 2009 Alberta Pulse Crop News.
2. August 19, 2009: ANALYSIS: Ocean Freight Rates - fell by more than 80% in the second half of 2008. They are not expected to regain anything close to year ago levels in the foreseeable future.
3. July, 2009: Producer Payment Security: Fixing Something That’s Not Broken? a summary of the business: featured in the Summer 2009 Alberta Pulse Crop News.
4. April, 2009: ANALYSIS: Drought in the Wimmera - growing pulses with little moisture : featured in the spring 2009 Alberta Pulse Crop News.
5. April, 2009: ANALYSIS: Margin Coverage Concept - AFSC Income stabilization program plans: featured in the spring 2009 Alberta Pulse Crop News.
6. September 15, 2008: ANALYSIS: Ocean Freight Rates - set a record level in May 2008. Softening global economic prospects may not have a major impact but a growing dry bulk fleet may mean lower rates.
7. May 27, 2008: ANALYSIS: Grains and Oilseeds Trade Outlook - biofuels no longer appear the threat to dry cargo supply that until recently they seemed to be.
8. April, 2008: ANALYSIS: A Canadian perspective on the Australian pulse industry - our most significant competitor in the international pulse market: featured in the spring 2008 Alberta Pulse Crop News.
9. June 25, 2007: ANALYSIS: Canadian Wheat Board - regulations to eliminate the board’s barley monopoly are facing legal challenges.
10. April 18, 2007: The Challenge of Market Deregulation - British milk dual marketing experience suggests that some protection of prairie grain farmers' marketing might be advisable. (615 words)
11. January 19, 2006: Marketing Organic Produce - increases in box trade should be considered as a very natural development in the sophisticated organic food market. (565 words)
12. January 17, 2006: Take care about what you ask - The perception amongst the CWB's foreign competitors that it has some kind of unfair advantage could prove costly for them. (600 words)
13. Oct. 17, 2005: The great divide in animal welfare - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation editorial by David Walker
14. September 20, 2005: Of Deer and Badgers - the very different ways human health issues are being handled in Canada and the UK says more about humans than the diseases. (675 words)
15. July 2005: For Article 39 read Article III-227. - The UK's decision not to hold a referendum on the proposed EU constitution is an opportunity lost.
16. June 2005: More of Margaret Beckett. - The reappointment of DEFRA secretary is of little comfort to hard pressed farmers, says David Walker.
17. May 16, 2005: Putting some sexy sizzle into food sales - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation editorial by David Walker
18. May 2005: Who was the Fool? - David Walker turns detective as he scrutinizes a regional daily for April Fool news articles.
19. April 14, 2005: Selenium? Yes, selenium - the UK dairy industry is considering promoting milk rich in selenium. (350 words)
20. April 2005: Measuring Success - Next month's 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day means it is timely to reflect on the issue of food security, writes David Walker.
21. March 2005: Provenance in the Food Market - Experts can distinguish original artworks from forgeries. David Walker wonders about the implications for food.
22. Feb. 21, 2005: Still Hunting - A bitter campaign to impose a ban on hunting in Britain appears to have achieved nothing. (550 words)
23. February 2005: The Act of Hunting - The case for banning dogs for hunting is no stronger than for keeping them for personal security or company argues David Walker.
24. January 2005: A Fresh Start for DEFRA? - David Walker wonders whether deeper reasons lie behind the government's attempt to attract fresh entrants into farming.
25. December 2004: Politicians must do their duty for sugar growers - The region's sugar growers need a leader like Nelson on their side, writes David Walker.
26. Nov 15, 2004: Hunting with ...dogs? - eight years after committing to a hunting ban the UK's Labour government has yet to implement effective legislation. (930 words)
27. Nov 11, 2004: Homes for the Travellers - they are a commercial phenomena and solutions to the challenges they create should be economic (530 words)
28. November 2004: From Selected Dairy Farms... - a novel way that one of the big five supermarkets has chosen to promote milk sales.
29. October 2004: Water Strategy Seems Vindictive - A water management strategy that ignores rising sea levels but targets farmland abstraction is unfair, argues David Walker.
30. September 2004: Two metres, precisely - an enlightened approach to the two-metre rule in unlikely, says David Walker.
31. June 2004: It is sometimes best to stick with what you know - David Walker asks whether farming families have the skills to diversify.
32. May 24, 2004: Milk and the EU Single Farm Payment - A two-page magazine spread providing advice to farmers on giving up milk production is a fair indication of the state of the UK dairy industry. (580 words)
33. May 17, 2004: Decoupling farms and the marketplace is no easy task - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation editorial by David Walker
34. May 2004: Rough and Tumble in the Marketplace - Innovation will be stifled if competion watch dogs clamp down too much on the way supermarkets deal with farmers.
35. April 2004: New twist for an old theory - the EU's move to decoupled Single Farm Payments appears troubled.
36. March 15, 2004:The Trouble with Single Farm Payments - that decoupling, which was never a politically popular concept, entered by the backdoor is making things more challenging. (690 words)
37. January 12, 2004: Hedgerows and Open Country - the humble hedgerow seems to be beloved by others, but is of little economic importance to farmers. (525 words)
38. August 8, 2003: The Right to Farm - the British government's decision to even consider limiting legitimate agricultural spraying near domestic dwellings raises some very serious concerns. (750 words)
39. May 20, 2003: The Norfolk Broads - Barrier or Barrage - this protection will be needed and built, sooner or later. (1,100 words)
40. Jan. 16, 2003: What to do about London? - when travelling around the countryside in south east England, it always seems that London is in the way. (555 words)
41. Dec. 1, 2002: The Postwick Bonfire - That environmentalists object to the English celebration of Guy Fawkes probably has more to do with their attitude to life than the environmental considerations. (380 words)
42. Nov. 20, 2002: Rich in history, English cattle market clings to life - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation editorial by David Walker
43. Sept. 30, 2002: Peaceniks 150,000, Rustics 400,000 - this unlikely result reflects alienation felt by rural people. (650 words)
44. Sept. 24, 2002: The Day After the March - - DEFRA issued four press releases, none of which were concilliatory or at all reassuring to the 400,000 who took to the streets of London. (520 words)
45. Sept. 23, 2002: Marching for what? - the 400,000 strong Liberty and Livelihood March should have sent a significant message to government, but hardly a clear one. (700 words)
46. Sept. 19, 2002: Norwich Market, open for the moment - the attitude of the City of Norwich in its livestock market reflects societies declining dependence on, interest in and support of agriculture. (760 words)
47. August 21, 2002: Travellers at Postwick - they moved on but not beroe they left their accustomed mess. (340 words)
48. June 2002: Swinging Europe -The swing of European politics to the right may provide a breathing space for CAP budget and WTO issues to be addressed. - an Opinion from the Anglia Farmer and Contractor by David Walker
49. April 24, 2002: Agriculture and European politics - the swing to the right may provide space for resolving farm budget and WTO issues before eastern European accession and the environment again dominate the CAP debate. (840 words)
50. April 2002: Little space for new lobbies - Current demand for sectoral representation of farming, some of it from East Anglia, may have to wait a while yet. - an Opinion from the Anglia Farmer and Contractor by David Walker
51. March 19, 2002:The Future of Farming and Food, an afterthought - With the absence of government interest in meaningful rural environmental investment, a new order of landed gentry may be needed to conserve the countryside.(1,050 words)
52. March 16, 2002: Beyond the National Farmers Union - The current structure of British farm politics is robust and able for awhile to withstand pressure for change stemming from the evolution of agriculture.(800 words)
53. Feb. 21, 2002: Paying for the Environment - Just as social programmes have not done much to solve poverty, environmental programmes are unlikely to benefit the countryside significantly. (830 words)
54. Feb. 7, 2002: Cardboard Marge - Ridiculing the newish British minister of other things and agriculture with a cardboard image is entertaining but not be in the best interest of the industry. from The Western Producer by David Walker
55. Feb. 5, 2002: Awkward Agriculture - the British government would undoubtedly close down agriculture as other industires have been in the past, but it is more awkward. (1020 words)
56. Jan. 14, 2002: Agriculture within the Environment - Britain's Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs may yet recognize the importance of a thriving farm sector to conserving the countryside environment. (620 Words)
57. Jan. 11, 2002: The Environment's Dependance on Agriculture - recognition that the degradation of the urban environment is linked to deprived economic conditions must apply in the countryside too. (600 Words)
58. Jan. 7, 2002: Urban Blight and the Countryside - The British government needs to recognize that economic depredation is as important for sustaining the environment in countryside as it is in urban areas. (1,030 Words)
59. Nov. 21, 2001: British farming - the need for understanding - in admitting tenant farmers had been ignored, the newish agriculture minister displayed poor understanding of the real challenges. (730 words)
60. Oct. 23, 2001: Politically Correct Food - a recent survey suggests food safety and other headline food issues are of lesser concern to consumers than taste. (860 words)
61. Oct. 5, 2001: Dangerous Ground for FSA Beyond Food Safety -While the FSA has had it successes in reestablishing consumer confidence in British food, it may be pushing its luck in attempting to work its magic on other food issues . (600 words)
62. Sept. 24, 2001: Agriculture after September 11 - market impact may be limited but bioscurity and government budget priorities are concerns. (670 words)
63. August 2, 2001: The Urban Onslaught -Southern Europe's vacation economy is not a viable model for scaling down farming in the Britain's countryside. (650 words)
64. July 26, 2001: The British Countryside In The Tourist Season -- Tony Blair's Announcement That He Would Spend Some Of His Holiday In The Countryside Was Not Greeted With Much Enthusiasm In Rural Areas - Bridge News Forum Opinion by David Walker
65. Feb. 2, 2001: Iceland and Organic Food Growth in demand for organic food will suffer from the departure from Iceland Foods of Malcolm Walker, a retail advocate of all that is natural. (720 words)
66. Jan. 30, 2000: Farm champions a rare breed in European politics - CBC editorial by David Walker
67. Jan. 27, 2001: Mass Marketing Organic Foods UK organic food sales growth nurtured by supermarket promotion may suffer from Malcolm Walker's retirement. (900 words)
68. Jan. 26, 2001: On Agricultural Ministers With a UK election only months away, not having a minister of agriculture may seem better than one with no stomach for the job. (650 words)
69. Jan. 25, 2001: German Farmers Facing A Double Threat: Both A Mad Cow Crisis And A Minister Of Agriculture Who May Be Hostile To Their Interests - Bridge News Forum Opinion by David Walker
70. Jan. 22, 2001: UK Swine Fever Post Mortem: The "all clear" was a cause for celebration for the pig industry and for Whitehall, but not for Westminister. (530 words)
71. Dec. 8, 2000: An organic red herring? The use of science in the organic debate is, paradoxically, obscuring reality. - an Opinion from the Anglia Farmer and Contractor by David Walker
72. Nov. 8, 2000: Floods and Farmers: With a convenient scapegoat in global warming, government is unlikely to address the real cause of recent floods (700 words)
73. Sept. 18, 2000: British Farmers' Direct Action - the central role played by farmers in recent direct action protests over fuel prices in the UK highlights a dramatic change in farm politics.
74. September 15, 2000: Incomes slump, costs rise - How come? - an Opinion from the Anglia Farmer and Contractor by David Walker
75. September 8, 2000: The British organic food debate - Pseudo-scientific arguments obscure the nature of the organic food market.
76. July 15, 2000: The Other Half of the Exchange Rate Equation - Operating in a high cost economy will, in the longer term, be a greater challenge for UK farmers than the current income losses from the strength of sterling.
77. June 22, 2000: The EU Is An Increasingly Uncommon Market - British Are Hit Hard, As Common Farm Policy Fails To Prevent Others From Gaining Advantage... - Bridge News Forum Opinion by David Walker
78. April 7, 2000: Farm Wheels Greased at Ten Downing Street - The need for long term structural adjustments was the intended message from the government's recent agriculture summit. But this message was almost certainly lost in the resulting debate about who got what and why.
79. March 13, 2000: The Countryside and Rights of Way -The British government's proposed legislation to improve public access to private land is dismissive of non-farm income opportunities for hard pressed British farmers. They stand little chance of fending off the rising tide of urban influence. Even now farming counts for little when the countryside is the issue.
80. February 2, 2000: The Haddock Phonomenon highlights the need for a change in role for the NFU. Reform may be difficult while it views itself as being under siege.
81. February 1, 2000: The emergence of a dissident candidate in the current National Farmers Union of England and Wales presidential election was unusual , and evidence that its dominant position in UK farm politics may be coming to an end.
82. January 18, 2000: Contrasting Fortunes Of US, UK Farmers Are Rooted In Politics, Washington Maintains A Double Standard On Farm Supports. - Bridge News Forum Opinion by David Walker
83. December 7, 1999: WTO's Circus at Seattle: That the opposition to the WTO, has emerged so early, was aimed at non-economic issues and sought a roll back of past gains, might be seen as creating unsumountable challenges for the WTO. The pay-off for what seemed to be an open invitation to the oppostion will occur later.
84. November 22, 1999: Treading The Path Between Trespass And Tradition - Debate Intensifies Over Public Access To Britain's Privately Owned Countryside - a Bridge News Opinion by David Walker
85. March 30, 1999: Agenda 2000: EU Leaders' Gift To Farmers May Have Ulterior MotiveLeaders' Surprise - Budget Increase For Agriculture is Likely To Appease The Newly Emboldened European Parliament - a Bridge Forum Opinion by David Walker