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Tag Archives Guide Opinion — page 2

When processors began investing in overseas pineapple production, the writing was on the wall for Hawaii’s island industry.
Crops, Guide Business, Marketing

Is Hawaii the canary in the cornfield?

There is a lesson for us to learn from the island paradise, so get ready for some uncomfortable reading

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Reading Time: 7 minutes Since 2012, U.S. grain prices have trended down significantly. Canadian farmers have been somewhat shielded from the price drop by a corresponding slump in the Canadian dollar. However, current prices combined with last year’s weather-related yield and quality losses are resulting in negative margins for many producers. Coffee shop analysts are quick to assign blame […] Read more
It's important to let your mentor see your desire for learning and growth.
Opinion

Opinion: Find the right mentor

Yes, approaching a mentor takes time and a bit of courage. But the payoffs can be huge

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Reading Time: 4 minutes At very least, establishing a relationship with a mentor is an adventure and an opportunity for growth and enlightenment. It can represent a great step forward for your farm. But, as always, it’s best to know how to get what you want. Finding a mentor can come through predictable channels such as having a mentor […] Read more
Opinion

What women in agriculture need and want

Guide Opinion: Communication remains a key in order for farm families to grow

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Reading Time: 5 minutes What do women in agriculture need? What do they want? I asked Canadian women who are farmers or in agriculture. The open forum for response on social media was complemented with phone calls and emails in which women thoughtfully responded with their wants and needs. 1. Women need healthier tax attitudes Women need farm families […] Read more
Last year, Statistics Canada revealed Canadian farm debt exceeds a record $100 billion dollars.
Guide Business, Opinion

Borrowing our way to prosperity

Is it healthy for Canada’s farmers to have more debt than 130 of the world’s national governments?

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Farmers and the ag industry love to set records. They drool over variety yields, bushels per acre, acres per hour, rates of gain, and any other metric that might portray them as more productive, efficient or simply better than their competitors. Yet barely a word was mentioned last spring when Statistics Canada revealed Canadian farm […] Read more
As a producer, are you getting enough feedback from the consumers of your grains? If not, you need to ask why.
Guide Business, Opinion

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

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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
All of the gains farmers have made in no-till are likely in jeopardy if their access to glyphosate is eliminated.
Guide Business, Opinion

A new attack on glyphosate

Earlier this fall, some food companies were calling for a ban on glyphosate

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Reading Time: 8 minutes Already by October 1, 2018, over 200 products sold under 17 different brand names were displaying the Glyphosate Residue Free symbol on their packaging. And another 50 brands representing hundreds more products are in the process of securing Glyphosate Residue Free certification. Farmers can expect increasing backlash over their use of glyphosate because of this […] Read more
Canada’s claim of being the world’s premium agricultural producer is questionable in the minds of many consumers.
Crops, Guide Business, Opinion

Canada’s agricultural brand has fizzled

Canada used to be known as the top producer of the world’s best food. Now, if we’re lucky, we’re considered second-rate

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Reading Time: 5 minutes As you sit in the cab of your combine, swather or truck this harvest season, a point to ponder is how Canadian agriculture will be remembered by the next generation. I think back to my grandfather’s farming days when Canada was considered part of the “bread basket of the world.” Grain buyers depended on the […] Read more
This is not an ideal time to question if the insurance policy you bought covers flooding in your home.
Guide Business

My mistakes

I’ll bet I’m not the only farmer to make these costly insurance mistakes. I’m finally learning my lessons. Are you?

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Reading Time: 6 minutes Most magazine articles describe how things should be done. Experts talk about best practices and strategies. We read about the winners and their successes. Yet the most important lessons I have learned came not as a result of emulating what others have done right but rather recognizing and avoiding mistakes I have previously made. Winston […] Read more
Approximately one-third of all the corn grown in the world is planted to GMO varieties.
Corn, Guide Business

The benefits of GMO corn

There will always be differing viewpoints and opposing scientific studies, but looking at all of the peer reviewed studies offers a balanced consensus on the benefits and risks

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Reading Time: 4 minutes It was in 1996 that genetically modified (GMO) crops were first grown commercially, yet the debate still rages over their safety and toxicology as well as over their environmental and agronomic impact. And it doesn’t seem to matter whether you’re a supporter or an opponent, you’ve got a stack of scientific studies you can point […] Read more
The covers of Australia’s and Canada’s wheat brochures both use an image of a combine harvesting, but that’s where the similarities end.
Guide Business

Out-competed

Again, the Australians are showing us how we’d market our crops if we had our act together

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Reading Time: 7 minutes Is the Canadian grains sector being out-marketed globally? This is a question that has nagged me since February 16, the date the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre released new information brochures for Australian wheat, barley, oats, canola and pulses. “These publications are aimed at international purchasers of Australian grain,” the association (AEGIC) said in its […] Read more

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