Tucked between a Shoppers Drug Mart and an overgrown hedge, the entrance to the Ontario Food Terminal is nearly impossible to find after you turn off the bustling Queensway in southwest Toronto — unless you know where you’re going. Yet every day, about 2,500 people in cars, half-tons, cube vans and tractor-trailers do know exactly[...]
The hub of an opportunity
Trissia Mellor is on a mission to boost the sustainability of farmers and small businesses in eastern Ontario. In Northumberland County’s economic development and tourism department, she’s the energetic agriculture manager, and she’s also heavily involved in getting the new Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (OAFVC) up and running. The venture centre is one of a[...]
Better ag education
If you need to make a big splash, says Nuffield scholar Becky Parker, throw a big rock. A lot of little stones will only create a lot of little ripples. It’s an insight that Parker has brought home from her Nuffield tour of Britain, New Zealand and Australia, and it’s among the strategies that she[...]
Save Ontario farmers, save farmland in the process
Rapidly rising populations, sprawling cities, shrinking farmland, and the feared effects of climate change prompted the Ontario government to create its Greenbelt around Toronto 10 years ago, with the goal of protecting some of the nation’s top agricultural land from development and fragmentation. After a decade, it seems it may be working. The greenbelt approach[...]
How "free" is the free trade in agricultural equipment?
In the last few years, we’ve heard a lot of passionate political speeches about so-called free trade agreements. It’s a topic that is really more than a century old in this country, going back as far as 1911 when the failed push for “Reciprocity” between Canada and the U.S. made headlines as a hot-button issue.[...]
Promoting agriculture around the globe
Becky Parker’s passion for agriculture and its future shines through when she talks about her upcoming two-year research adventure as a Nuffield scholar. But Parker also knows that it’s going to take the best people doing the best work to keep our agriculture at the forefront. In particular, she is focused on one crucial question.[...]
Building a better bridge between farmers and consumers
Although public and private marketing campaigns aimed at bridging the gap between farmers and consumers are making real strides, two studies conducted in 2014 point out just how far apart the two groups are in their attitudes to modern agriculture and food production. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) commissioned a $100,000 qualitative research study from[...]
Our toughest marketing challenge
Rodney Dangerfield built a comic career on his signature line: “I don’t get no respect.” But for the agricultural industry, loss of respect is no laughing matter. The public perception of agriculture is steadily eroding. Last fall, Harris Interactive asked 2,537 Americans to name the most prestigious occupations. As you might guess, doctors topped the[...]
When farm organizations work with charities, everyone wins
When Bill Laidlaw was general manager of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, he had no more insight than anyone else into what food banks were, what they did, or how they operated. Now, as executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB), he spends a lot of his time lobbying the government, companies and[...]
Organic by choice, sort of
We’re really selling the relationship, and the story of us,” says Harry Stoddart as he describes the markings on his White Park-cross cattle. The rare White crossbreed, he explains, is part of his story. It’s because he can tell a story that I’m at Stoddart’s farm. His book, Real Dirt: An Ex-Industrial Farmer’s Guide to[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
