Reading Time: 9 minutes As summer approaches and the pandemic is beginning to ease, it’s time to take stock. What got agriculture through the COVID-19 pandemic? Who kept things from falling off the rails? It turns out farm organizations played an enormous role. You probably know that already. Understandably, these groups invest heavily in making sure their members know […] Read more
Getting involved at the farm level
Farm organizations sustain Canadian agriculture. They’re also where a whole lot of farmers are gaining leadership, management and decision-making skills. Should you join them?
Editor’s Note: Getting together on a plan for 2021
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture is getting more and more diverse and the gaps between our farms are growing, which is why we need a higher percentage of farmers getting involved in farm organizations. Here are two questions we almost never ask in our Country Guide interviews. What farm organizations are you involved in? And how much emphasis do […] Read more
Fraser: In ag marketing, emotions need to start trumping facts
Emotional transparency 'actually goes a long way'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Go to an agricultural event and someone will inevitably point out how bad farmers are at getting their message to consumers. As annoying as it is, those comments underscore an increasingly important theme in Canadian agriculture: communication. It used to be enough to grow and market your crops, but that has changed dramatically over the […] Read more
Are Canada’s farm organizations actually listening to their members?
Amid the falling commodity prices and rising input costs, one question is getting louder. Who do our farm organizations really represent?
Reading Time: 7 minutes The last few years have been tumultuous for Canadian grain farmers, especially in the West. Not only have we seen the end of the single-desk CWB monopoly, but we also watched as Ottawa passed Bill C-18, the Agriculture Growth Act (which included the approving UPOV 91) and as major changes were made to AgriStability. Farmers […] Read more
Editor’s Desk: If not now…
Canada's farm organizations need your participation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s mainline farm organizations are struggling for your support. They deserve another shot. That’s not based on their past performance. It’s because of the scale and the solvability of the challenges ahead. In other words, we’re at a point in history where farm organizations can make a difference, if they have good leadership. Those who […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
