Calgary, Alberta
They’re both successful. For decades, farming in Alberta meant barley-fed beef. It still does. But now it also means local food. With producers like Tim Hoven, farmers markets in Calgary alone have seen sales zoom past $400 million and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Now, commodity and local-food operations are actually finding ways to co-exist, often on the same farm.
Kinistino, Saskatchewan
Western farmers like Wayne Bacon have long wanted to value add instead of exporting raw grain. Many attempts have stumbled, including hogs and beef. Now, canola is getting the job done, preserving raw sales but also building new crush plants for markets that keep getting bigger.
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Rosenort, Manitoba
Building a bridge to consumers is the game plan for Manitoba egg producers like Kurt Siemens. They’ve committed themselves to switching to new cages that let hens roost and perch. Even the local humane society is impressed.
“The Valley” as it’s known to locals, gives farmers like Allan Calder a unique capability to choose wheat or corn, and soybeans or canola. Yes, the Red River can be a fickle and sometimes angry master, but land here may have more opportunity than anywhere else in the country
Guelph, Ontario
For three days this spring, Gary Markus joined 30 young would-be farmers in a classroom to learn how to make it in the real world. It’s an innovative new education program taught by farmers, farm organizations and financial experts, and already it’s helping tomorrow’s farmers get off to a better start.
Tilbury, Ontario
When Bert Rammelaere set up his solar panels a couple years ago, his neighbours shook their heads. Now they’re asking for advice. Based on locked-in solar electricity prices, huge numbers of farmers across the province are building their own. Wouldn’t you?
Ile d’Orleans, Quebec
Is he really a farmer? Frankly, André Gosselin doesn’t care about your definitions. Instead, he’s using his farm and his scientific background to build new businesses supplying foods and food ingredients for markets that didn’t even exist a few years ago.
