GFM Network News

More News →

Author Archives

As a producer, are you getting enough feedback from the consumers of your grains? If not, you need to ask why.
Guide Business, Opinion

Time to take control

When it comes to the future of Canada’s grains sector, no one is steering the ship. We can’t let that continue

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes In September, I challenged farmers to think about how Canada’s agricultural production should be branded. I questioned how consumers and foreign buyers view the commodities we produce. And most importantly, I wanted every farmer to ask themselves if production practices they use add or diminish that brand. That column upset some farmers. Readers felt my […] Read more
All of the gains farmers have made in no-till are likely in jeopardy if their access to glyphosate is eliminated.
Guide Business, Opinion

A new attack on glyphosate

Earlier this fall, some food companies were calling for a ban on glyphosate

By
Reading Time: 8 minutes Already by October 1, 2018, over 200 products sold under 17 different brand names were displaying the Glyphosate Residue Free symbol on their packaging. And another 50 brands representing hundreds more products are in the process of securing Glyphosate Residue Free certification. Farmers can expect increasing backlash over their use of glyphosate because of this […] Read more
Canada’s claim of being the world’s premium agricultural producer is questionable in the minds of many consumers.
Crops, Guide Business, Opinion

Canada’s agricultural brand has fizzled

Canada used to be known as the top producer of the world’s best food. Now, if we’re lucky, we’re considered second-rate

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes As you sit in the cab of your combine, swather or truck this harvest season, a point to ponder is how Canadian agriculture will be remembered by the next generation. I think back to my grandfather’s farming days when Canada was considered part of the “bread basket of the world.” Grain buyers depended on the […] Read more
This is not an ideal time to question if the insurance policy you bought covers flooding in your home.
Guide Business

My mistakes

I’ll bet I’m not the only farmer to make these costly insurance mistakes. I’m finally learning my lessons. Are you?

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes Most magazine articles describe how things should be done. Experts talk about best practices and strategies. We read about the winners and their successes. Yet the most important lessons I have learned came not as a result of emulating what others have done right but rather recognizing and avoiding mistakes I have previously made. Winston […] Read more
Whether you were for it or against, a proper study has never done to measure the impact of the end of the Canadian Wheat Board.
Cereals, Guide Business

Why don’t we know?

Whether you were in favour of changing the CWB or against it, isn’t it time we get clear, unbiased answers about what the impact has been?

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes Ask any western grain farmer what is significant about August 1, 2012, and most will tell you it was the day the federal government eliminated the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly on the sale and export of wheat and barley from Western Canada. Some farmers will refer to it as the “grain marketing freedom day.” Others […] Read more
Approximately one-third of all the corn grown in the world is planted to GMO varieties.
Corn, Guide Business

The benefits of GMO corn

There will always be differing viewpoints and opposing scientific studies, but looking at all of the peer reviewed studies offers a balanced consensus on the benefits and risks

By
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was in 1996 that genetically modified (GMO) crops were first grown commercially, yet the debate still rages over their safety and toxicology as well as over their environmental and agronomic impact. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether you’re a supporter or an opponent, you’ve got a stack of scientific studies you can point […] Read more
The covers of Australia’s and Canada’s wheat brochures both use an image of a combine harvesting, but that’s where the similarities end.
Guide Business

Out-competed

Again, the Australians are showing us how we’d market our crops if we had our act together

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes Is the Canadian grains sector being out-marketed globally? This is a question that has nagged me since February 16, the date the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre released new information brochures for Australian wheat, barley, oats, canola and pulses. “These publications are aimed at international purchasers of Australian grain,” the association (AEGIC) said in its […] Read more
Guide Business, Opinion

Advisor vs. adviser

Are you sure you should trust the person who is advising you on your financial future?

By
Reading Time: 7 minutes Life, business and farming are all becoming increasingly complicated. As a result, individuals in every walk of life, including farmers, are turning to advisers for help. The public has an expectation that these advisers are highly trained, that they are experts in their field, and that they will work in the best interests of the […] Read more
Crops, Opinion

Opinion: Winners and losers

We should take a much harder look at those yield contests

By
Reading Time: 5 minutes The following is my opinion. Enough said. This started out as a column that was going to extol the farming abilities of some of the winners of canola growing contests. But as I talked with farmers about how they achieved their amazingly high yields, it became clear to me the highest yield isn’t really the […] Read more
Guide Business

The new consumer value

While farmers take pride in producing high-quality crops at affordable prices, consumers have moved on

By
Reading Time: 6 minutes In my previous article I suggested that farmers need some fresh thinking about the value they are producing for the consumer. Unfortunately, the majority of North American farmers still value their production only on the basis of quality and price, whereas research shows that only about half of consumers now base their food purchasing decisions […] Read more

AgCanadaTV

AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending February 14, 2020.

Sponsored By:
More Videos →

Daily Newsletter

You'll receive current daily news every morning free, as well as market updates and special features.