(Screengrab from Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation video via YouTube)

Ontario watershed study shows overapplication of phosphorus

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers in one Huron County, Ont. watershed are applying almost exactly the nitrogen needed by their crops, but more than 30 per cent more phosphorus than is needed. University of Guelph researchers reached the conclusions by analyzing multiple years of data collected by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority during in-person interviews with farmers in the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Ontario minimum wage increases concern farmers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Changes to the way labour is regulated and paid for in Ontario will have detrimental effects on farm profitability, say farm organizations. Premier Kathleen Wynne and Labour Minister Kevin Flynn announced the changes this week, outlining the proposed legislation after a review of the acts that govern labour in Ontario was completed. The largest impact […] Read more



Yonge-Dundas Square, downtown Toronto. (Photo courtesy City of Toronto via Flickr)

Trust in agriculture increases with farm visits: survey

Reading Time: 2 minutes Residents of the Greater Toronto Area who have worked in agriculture or have recently visited a working farm are more likely to be optimistic about job prospects in the agriculture sector. That’s according to a recent survey of 676 residents of the GTA by Grassroots Public Affairs and Delphi Polling and Consulting. The survey highlighted […] Read more


Keith Coble, of Mississippi State University, says there may be overexuberance in the agriculture technology market. (John Greig photo)

Greig: Farmer trust key to big data’s future

Reading Time: 3 minutes The marketplace for precision agriculture technology is sorting itself out, but it still has a way to go before it will be mature and have predictable uses for farmers, says a U.S. agriculture economist. Dr. Keith Coble, chair of the Mississippi State University’s department of agricultural economics, says we’re in the “overexuberance” phase of technology […] Read more

Emergence in an Ontario soybean field. (File photo by John Greig)

Greig: Late spring planting means more soybeans in Ontario

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ontario farmers are stopped across most of the province as consistently wet weather holds up planting and pushes farmers to plant more soybeans instead of corn. Significantly higher than normal rain in southern Ontario and record rainfall between Toronto and Ottawa mean that near the end of May, corn planting isn’t complete and there remains […] Read more


(Milk.org)

Ontario’s dairy group names new GM

Reading Time: < 1 minute Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) has found its new general manager within the organization. Graham Lloyd, the organization’s general counsel, secretary to the board and director of communications, is the new general manager, replacing Peter Gould, the organization’s long-time manager. Gould, trained as an economist, has been with DFO since 1981 and has been the […] Read more

Michael Brownbridge manages research in horticultural production systems at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. (John Greig photo)

Eggplant value chain project replaces most imports

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian-grown eggplant and okra have replaced about 800,000 kg of imports over the past several years, creating a research-to-grower-to-market success story. The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre has played a central role helping with research and bringing together the parts of the industry needed to create a food chain success. The eggplant and okra case […] Read more


Animal welfare research is becoming about the emotional state of the animal rather than its health, Dr. Ed Pajor says. (John Greig photo)

Greig: Animal welfare research focusing more on emotional states

Reading Time: 3 minutes Animal welfare research is moving beyond identifying what keeps an animal healthy, to focus more on their state of being and their happiness. For years, farmers have justified the way they manage and house animals based on objective measures of their health: disease prevalence, growth rates and feed consumption. Consumer research, however, shows that’s not […] Read more

VIDEO: Evaluating animal welfare

VIDEO: Evaluating animal welfare

Reading Time: < 1 minute Glacier FarmMedia reporter John Greig speaks with Ed Pajor about how animal welfare researchers are moving from evaluating welfare based on health to the emotional state of animals.