Reading Time: 4 minutes Dr. Gillian Richards is a research associate at Brandon University’s Research Development Institute, and it’s quickly apparent that she is happy to discuss the institute’s research. Hers is a mild English accent; she wants to take a practical approach to rural issues. That, it turns out, is because the barriers to rural development can be […] Read more
Small-town problems, small-town solutions
Stepping up the cider game
It’s a great time to lead in the cider business, and this farm group aims to take their Broken Ladder brand international
Reading Time: 9 minutes Back when my grandparents’ generation of Okanagan farmers first formed a fruit growing co-operative to market their fruit, farmers made a good living growing and selling crops on a commodity basis. Sure, some of that fruit ended up in cans, in fruit leather or in other value-added applications, but that all happened after the fruit […] Read more
China powers up
The world’s most populous country gets serious about farm machinery
Reading Time: 6 minutes Like so much of China, the country’s agriculture is in a state of transition. While some sectors of the industry are barreling full speed into mechanization, with impressive rates of technology adoption to match the latest in global production standards, the road to modernizing agricultural production isn’t always a smooth one. China is the world’s […] Read more
So history repeats itself
Reading Time: 7 minutes Consider for a moment what Canadian agriculture would look like today if farmers had never made the switch from horse power to tractor power. It isn’t such an absurd idea if you understand why farmers here actually resisted mechanization when it first appeared roughly a century ago. An interesting read is the text of the […] Read more
That little blue elevator
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s an unlikely scenario that three friends from Toronto with no agricultural background would find themselves on the wide open prairie buying and exporting lentils, peas and beans. But much has changed in the grain marketing world. Noor Faridi, Faisal Usmani and Aftab Ghouri might just be the face of that change. Their new company, […] Read more
Shortline prospecting
Shortline railway companies are creating new opportunities for farm commodities, and for farmers too
Reading Time: 7 minutes Operating a shortline railway in Western Canada isn’t an easy proposition. Over the past 20 years, many companies have come, and ultimately gone, after trying to revive lines that CN and CP had abandoned in their waves of rationalization. But now, a move from single-farm producer car loading to higher-volume sites might become the key […] Read more
A better workplace for women
In today’s tight labour markets, a workplace that attracts women employees may give your farm the edge you’re looking for
Reading Time: 4 minutes With the farm labour shortage expected to go from bad to worse all across Canada, farms that can attract untapped communities of job seekers may have a big advantage. Which means women. Women are Canada’s largest under-utilized pool of potential farm employees. The numbers prove it. Women make up only 36 per cent of the […] Read more
Sexual harassment: Is your farm at risk?
The short answer is “yes,” but here’s how you can reduce your risks with a harassment policy that helps prevent unacceptable behaviours and their consequences
Reading Time: 5 minutes On the outside, everything seems wholesome and almost shiny. We run our family farms with respect and good will, focused on productivity and efficiency. In fact, as an industry, we’re so good at it, more farms are hiring non-family employees, and there’s increased gender and cultural diversity throughout the agricultural industry. That has got to […] Read more
Chicago high school turning learners into leaders
Near the top in the academic rankings in Chicago, the Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences is transforming city kids into graduates eager for careers in agriculture
Reading Time: 5 minutes Rarely does someone wish they could go back to high school, but that was certainly the feeling I had when I toured a school in Chicago last June during my Nuffield Scholarship. The institution is about 30 km south of downtown Chicago, and in many ways, it is a standard high school. It has lockers, […] Read more
Uber-stores for food
Businesses like Marcia Woods’ FreshSpoke are figuring out how to connect Canadian farmers with the consumers looking for ways to buy from them
Reading Time: 4 minutes Marcia Woods’ frustration at not being able to buy the high-quality food that she knew was being grown right down the road evolved into an online business that not only connects farmers with wholesalers, but also solves their transportation and cash-flow headaches. Coming from a long line of Oxford County farmers in Ontario, Woods, who’s […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
