consumers Archives | Country Guide

Packers win dismissal of U.S. pork price-fixing suits

By Reuters August 8, 2019

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed antitrust lawsuits accusing several large U.S. pork companies of conspiring to limit the supply of pork to inflate prices and their own profits at the expense of consumers and other purchasers. Chief Judge John Tunheim of the federal court in Minneapolis said the plaintiffs failed to show […] Read more

Throwing more information at consumers won’t fill up their knowledge gap. We need to use science.

Guide Business, Marketing

Filling in the knowledge gaps for consumers

Understanding the science of why consumers get so much wrong about agriculture can help us put them right

By April Stewart January 29, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not an earth-shattering revelation to those working in agriculture that there is a farm-to-plate knowledge gap. We know that most consumers are generations removed from the farm and have misconceptions or a lack of accurate information about agriculture. The Knowledge Gap theory is that information has traditionally been more accessible to those with higher […] Read more

General

Six steps to better consumer conversations

By April Stewart October 23, 2018

The science is worth learning. Gaining knowledge about why consumers behave the way they do and make the decisions they do is essential to building constructive, forward-thinking dialogue, engaging in artful and “value-added” arguments, and educating and influencing your audience. One way to gain insight into how the human brain processes information is by exploring[...]
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Are Canadian farmer’s machinery choices influenced most strongly by what’s on offer at their favourite local dealer?

Guide Business, Machinery

The heart of the deal

How significant is the local dealer in determining what you buy?

By Scott Garvey March 14, 2018

Reading Time: 5 minutes One evening a year or so ago I sat in a hotel lounge in rural England with a couple of other ag machinery writers. We were gathered there for a machinery event and were all staying in the same hotel. We spent part of that evening discussing the differences between farmer perceptions of machinery in[...]
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Guide Business

The new consumer value

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

By Gerald Pilger March 5, 2018

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[...]
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Dairy Cattle, Livestock

Talk to family, friends about farming

By Shannon VanRaes December 20, 2017

Reading Time: 3 minutes This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at[...]
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A Canadian Centre for Food Integrity survey revealed consumers’ impressions of farmers are still more favourable than many other professions.

Guide Business, Opinion

Join the fight for consumer trust

Every farmer should be in the habit of telling non-farmers to check out www.bestfoodfacts.org

By Gerald Pilger November 23, 2017

Reading Time: 4 minutes Early on the evening of April 13, 1970, Jack Swigert, pilot of Apollo 13’s command module, radioed the now famous phrase, “I believe we’ve had a problem here.” His words immediately set in motion the incredible teamwork needed to diagnose what had happened and to find a solution to a very serious situation. Since then,[...]
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Livestock, News, Sheep/Goats

VIDEO: Data needed to help Ontario lamb reach potential

By John Greig November 2, 2017

Reading Time: < 1 minute Glacier FarmMedia’s John Greig speaks with Martin Gooch, who conducted a study for Ontario Sheep Farmers that looked at how farmers can get more local lamb to consumers.

The price you set for your product has to be fair to you, but it also has to give retailers enough room to build in costs that are invisible to most shoppers.

Guide Business, Marketing

Setting the right price for the grocery shelf

Canada’s grocery stores are eager for more producers to fill their shelves with great straight-from-the-farm products. To win, though, you’ve got to price them right

By Rebeca Kuropatwa September 20, 2017

Reading Time: 7 minutes From the outside, it looks likes a huge opportunity just waiting for you to grab hold of it. And maybe it really is. We’ve all been there. You already have an idea of what it costs to grow your crops and raise your livestock, and one day when you’re pushing your cart down the aisle[...]
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Crops, Guide Business

The sustainability conundrum

In the Western world at least, there’s a big demand for ‘sustainably sourced’ products. What that means, or receiving a premium for them, is another matter

By Richard Kamchen June 14, 2017

Reading Time: 5 minutes The food giants want it on their labels, and in the annual reports and other information they send to their investors. PepsiCo, Walmart, General Mills, McDonald’s, Unilever, Sara Lee and Nestlé are among those citing the years 2020 or 2025 as targets for achieving their goals of buying “sustainably sourced” products. But what does that[...]
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Freeland, U.S. and Mexican officials to meet to pin down trade deal

U.S. grains: Soybean futures set two-week high

U.S. livestock: Plentiful supply pressures CME hogs

GFM Network News