Reading Time: 6 minutes In September, I challenged farmers to think about how Canada’s agricultural production should be branded. I questioned how consumers and foreign buyers view the commodities we produce. And most importantly, I wanted every farmer to ask themselves if production practices they use add or diminish that brand. That column upset some farmers. Readers felt my […] Read more
Time to take control
When it comes to the future of Canada’s grains sector, no one is steering the ship. We can’t let that continue
Talk to family, friends about farming
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 […] Read more
Join the fight for consumer trust
Every farmer should be in the habit of telling non-farmers to check out www.bestfoodfacts.org
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, […] Read more
Trio of groups proposes Alberta-based agrifood ‘supercluster’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agrium, Olds College and global satellite communications corporation MDA have submitted an application to the federal government to form an agrifood “supercluster.” The Liberal government committed up to $950 million (over five years) in its March budget to create hubs that would focus on key economic sectors in an effort to kickstart investment, boost exports […] Read more
Tyson Foods beefs up prepared foods with AdvancePierre buy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Tyson Foods Inc, the No. 1 U.S. meat processor, said on Tuesday it would buy packaged sandwich supplier AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc for about $3.2 billion in cash, to expand its fast-growing portfolio of prepared food brands. Demand for meat-based snacks has been growing as Americans shun candy and overly processed foods. This […] Read more
After twenty years has biotechnology really lived up to its promise?
The benefits of biotechnology have been undeniable to farmers, in spite of challenges from resistance
Reading Time: 6 minutes Farmers were practically guaranteed that we were entering a whole new era in agri-food production. Because of something called transgenics, we were going to have higher yields, lower costs, and all sorts of unimagineable farm efficiencies, not to mention that, thanks to this technology, we’d be able to feed the world. But 20 years later, […] Read more
Going underground for soil ecology
Soil is far more than just dirt. Are you nurturing the organisms that help it grow great crops?
Reading Time: 5 minutes A warm, early-July breeze blew through a wheat field in northeastern Saskatchewan, not far from Nipawin. The heads had just emerged and were still green, but the field was taking on that fuzzy look that you typically get with a fresh, bearded cereal. This field was unusual, however, because even though you couldn’t see it, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
