Getting an innovative agricultural product or service to market — and having it sell — is neither an easy nor an inexpensive way to make your mark, so Tim Nelson has some advice if you think you have hit on the next big thing. “Make sure it is of use and relevant to farmers,” says[...]
Farm opportunities on your mind
Not so long ago, all the buzz was about unleashing Canada’s full agricultural potential on a world that desperately needs our farmers to produce more and more. Global population was booming, more countries were more prosperous, and consumers everywhere were changing and improving their diets. Now our country needs Canada’s farmers to succeed too. Whether[...]
The many sides of grief
We know that grief is a natural response when a loved one dies. What we may not realize, though, is that we may also grieve, sometimes for years, from non-death losses too. Losing the family farm, getting divorced, living with a debilitating illness, being estranged from one’s child, the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic… all[...]
A food hub that grows
A proposed $36 million food hub in eastern Ontario may be the model for a more regionalized Canadian food system that will benefit farmers and consumers as they emerge from the disruption of COVID-19. “We know that food sovereignty is on the mind of everyone,” says Carole Lavigne, director of economic development and tourism in[...]
Horticultural industry bowed, not broken by COVID-19
Despite extraordinarily difficult issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill George is optimistic about the future of the Canadian horticultural sector. “I’m very proud of how producers have risen to the challenges,” he says. “They always will find a way to get things done.” George is the chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association[...]
Trump's payments to farmers hit all-time high ahead of election
Chicago | Reuters -- U.S. President Donald Trump is assuring a bumper year for farmers as the Nov. 3 election approaches, with record government subsidies projected to make up more than a third of farm income in 2020. The aid programs could be key to Trump's chances of success in swing states such as Wisconsin,[...]
Toronto’s golden Greenbelt
When Ontario’s Greenbelt turned 15 this past February, all four of Ontario’s political parties gathered at Queen’s Park to celebrate. According to Michael Young, communications advisor for the Greenbelt Foundation, the event was “a positive and convivial occasion, with a sense that we were all coming together with the shared belief that the Greenbelt must[...]
Thinking ‘tomorrow’
While Kristjan Hebert’s working life hasn’t changed drastically through COVID-19, the pandemic has helped refine his ideas on how the grain industry could move forward from here. Mainly, it’s convinced him even more than before that farming is a people business. “I still feel that people are our number one asset,” he says. “If we[...]
The challenge for Canadian beef
The 2020 pandemic has caused major disruptions in the Canadian beef industry, but with demand for their products remaining steady, producers are hopeful their businesses will survive through to the new year. “A lot of producers are in a pretty tough situation,” says Chad Ross, president of the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association and owner of[...]
Funds for agricultural innovation
Developing an “innovation ecosystem” across Canada and increasing the nation’s competitiveness in the global agriculture and agri-food industry are the goals of a new partnership between Bioenterprise Corporation and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). “FCC is the Canadian standard for financial support and banking in agriculture and agri-food in the country,” says Dave Smardon, president and[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
