Reading Time: 9 minutes There is a “Missing Middle” in Canada’s ag and food sector — a kind of bottleneck caused by how the country’s mid-sized ventures are getting swallowed up by the few large corporations that supply most of the food that Canadians buy. As problems go, this one might seem unimportant or maybe even irrelevant, but for […] Read more
The infrastructure gap in Canada’s agriculture and food sector
What is the ‘Missing Middle,’ and how can your investment in venture capital fix it?
Milling grains into value-added food ideas
With consolidation and falling commodity prices as the new norm, more grain growers are making creative decisions
Reading Time: 3 minutes The number of Canadian grain farms is shrinking. Commodity prices are under pressure. Remaining growers are farming larger parcels of land. Increasingly, the answer to consolidation and falling commodity prices is vertical integration. It isn’t for every farm, but value-added products are starting to play an important role in how grain growers remain competitive. “We […] Read more
Food cost cuts deep in consumer food report
Reading Time: 2 minutes The latest survey of Canadian grocery from Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab habits shows food prices are still impacting how consumers buy their groceries.
Summer Series: ‘Scale up your food ideas!’
[Make it Count] Is the time right to take your big idea to a food development centre? Today’s commodity prices may make this the best year ever to future-proof your farm
Reading Time: 12 minutes Could that idea that you’ve got buzzing around in the back of your head grow into a major commercial success if you took it to a food development centre? Who knows? And how much it would cost? There’s a lot to learn about Canada’s food development centres, but the fact is, few of our farmers […] Read more
Summer Series: Pivot, and then pivot some more
[Change Management] Why would this family abandon mainline commodities, and then dig in even deeper
Reading Time: 11 minutes Just making one of these moves would be a huge step for any farm, let alone both of them. First, the Haskett family switched their farm from hogs to goats. Then, years later, they pivoted their market strategy too, launching their own new brand. In this article, we dive deep into how the family made […] Read more
The ‘Ozempic effect’ could cut world food consumption: report
AI and the end of free water among food marketer's trends to watch
Reading Time: 2 minutes Will calorie consumption decline in the future thanks--in part--to a viral weight-loss drug? A recent food trend report suggests it could.
Feds disburse funds on community food security projects
Since 2019 the Local Food Infrastructure Fund has committed $64.8 million to such projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute Wednesday, federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay announced up to $9.98 million in funding for community food projects through the fifth phase of the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, an outworking of the Food Policy for Canada.
Grocery code will stabilize producer incomes, say fruit and vegetable growers
The code has hit recent speed bumps as grocery giants Loblaw and Walmart have stalled signing on
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada's proposed grocery code of conduct will usher in a new era of fairness and transparency and stabilize grower incomes, said the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) in a statement Thursday.
Canadian food inflation to slow through 2024, report says
More certainty has brought an uptick in grocer promotions, but consumers are struggling
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian food prices are expected to rise between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2024, according to a new report.
“It is probable that Canadians will continue to experience the strain of food inflation compounded by increasing costs of housing, energy and various other expenditures,” according to Canada’s Food Price Report 2024.
Report aims to show animal agriculture’s interconnections
CAPI hopes to broaden policymakers' perspective
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new report for the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute seeks to educate policymakers about the impact of animal agriculture on economic, social and environmental levels. The report, titled Forces Impacting Animal Agriculture In Canada: A Synthesis, delves into the issues surrounding cattle, dairy and poultry production in the country and how it is interconnected within […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
