Reading Time: 3 minutes Millennials and gen Z have taken a good deal of shots from previous generations, and maybe even an unfair share of them. But for those who would farm in adulthood, it turns out that Millennials and gen Z, stereotypically maligned for not working hard enough, aren’t so different from past generations that endured and stood […] Read more
Gen Z farmers are leading the way
The next generation of farmers are here and they’re mixing old with new to get results
The pros and cons of new technologies
New tech and equipment can be fun and often helpful, but experts caution against “new and shiny” syndrome
Reading Time: 3 minutes New farm technology hitting the marketplace can be awfully enticing, and it’s not been unheard of in years gone by to cause a frenzied “must-buy” reaction from those wowed by a demonstration. But just because the latest whiz-bang creation can, for the sake of argument, combine, check the markets, and cook an egg, all while […] Read more
Summer Series: Women in charge
[Leadership] Yes, progress is being made, but women still face challenges in expanding their farm ownership and leadership roles
Reading Time: 6 minutes Factors like the “mommy tax”, gendered roles, and land ownership continue to make it difficult for many women to immerse themselves in agriculture. The good news is that the industry is working at dismantling these barriers.– April Stewart, CG Associate Editor There are two stories here. Yes, the proportion of Canadian farm operators who are […] Read more
Direct farm marketing in your pocket
Direct-to-consumer sales are climbing across Canada, but the small farms at the bottom of the market face some challenges
Reading Time: 5 minutes We picture them on the sides of roads and highways. We might think of a fruit stand, for example, or maybe we remember a hand-painted sign pointing to a U-pick farm. They’re what we think of when someone says “direct marketing” because they’re the more time-tested ways farmers have bypassed middlemen and retailers to sell […] Read more
Local food outlook
How far will the local trend actually take today’s ag?
Reading Time: 4 minutes While the pandemic was still raging a year ago, Business Development Bank of Canada added statistical muscle to what so many others were observing all across the country. COVID-19 was great news for local food. In its nation-wide survey, the bank found 21 per cent of Canadians had started buying more local products since the […] Read more
Organic’s doubtful future
Here’s a headline that got it right: “Despite growing demand, number of organic farms is down.”
Reading Time: 5 minutes The headline above is from the Globe and Mail, which may surprise some farm readers. A definite surprise, though, is that it’s from 2006. And most surprising of all? The headline is still true. You could run it again in 2023. Among consumers, organic demand has grown. In 2021, Canadians spent nearly $9.4 billion on […] Read more
A grain marketing strategy for 2022-23
Know your costs, pay attention to basis and be careful about leaving grain in the bin too long
Reading Time: 6 minutes After a year with some of the most volatile markets in history, crop growers will need a careful marketing strategy to turn a profit in 2022-23. “The last two years have made for complacent marketing,” says Jim Beusekom, president of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, Alta. “Holding on to commodities and waiting for the price […] Read more
The story of high prices
Return on investment is driving a rise in farmland purchases by non-farmers that looks like it’s here to stay. Is that bad? Or good?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Farmland’s reputation as a safe and profitable asset seems sure to draw more investment dollars into rural Canada, whether farmers are happy about the extra demand for their number one source of wealth or not. A look at Calgary-based investment fund Veripath Farmland Partners and its 90,000-acre row crop portfolio shows why. Farmland is just […] Read more
Low-clearance spraying
Startup company is beginning with weed mapping by drones, but sees a future for spraying by swarms of mini crop dusters
Reading Time: 4 minutes A well-funded Regina-based robotics and artificial intelligence firm sees a future in spraying with drones, potentially cutting herbicide use by up to 95 per cent. In the meantime, it’s working on a system of conventional spraying using information gathered by a drone survey. Dan McCann, founder and CEO of Precision AI, claims conventional spraying results […] Read more
Home field advantage
Of course exports are vital, but look how much our farms earn from domestic processors
Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada’s food and beverage industry, defined as all the activities involved in taking raw agricultural output and processing it into finished products for consumers, employs 290,000 people and provides about 70 per cent of all processed food and beverage products sold in Canada. The sector is Canada’s second-strongest manufacturing industry with economic activity of $117.8 […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
