Reading Time: 2 minutes Their concerns are valid. It is getting more and more difficult to frame national policies that are supported across the farm sector. Over the decade that I’ve been at Country Guide, we’ve made a stab two or three times at doing a story on whether there is such a thing as a Canadian farmer. Or […] Read more
Editor’s Note: The price of farm innovation
Among the emails that flow into my in-box, I can always expect to hear from farmers who are concerned about our farms becoming too different from one another, to the danger of all
Canada clears Bayer’s Monsanto play, with conditions
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s Competition Bureau says it’s “actively reviewing” BASF’s suitability as a buyer of the crop seed and chemical assets Bayer has to sell to get the bureau’s blessing to buy Monsanto. The Competition Bureau said Wednesday it has an agreement with Bayer to deal with “concerns that the proposed transaction would have significantly harmed competition […] Read more
Ontario, U of Guelph renew ag research partnership
Reading Time: 2 minutes Up to $713 million in agriculture research will be funded at the University of Guelph over the next 10 years through a renewal of the university’s agreement with the provincial ag ministry. The new agreement has been updated to manage digital data and is aimed to provide a base from which to leverage more research […] Read more
Plant protein supercluster makes cut for federal funding
Reading Time: 4 minutes At the table with artificial intelligence, big data, advanced manufacturing and ocean-based energy, Prairie pulse, oilseed and cereal crops are in for a share of federal support to spur innovation in Canada. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains on Thursday announced Protein Industries Canada (PIC) as one of five “superclusters” which will receive […] Read more
Ontario, Canada sign $1.5 billion CAP agreement
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian and Ontario governments have signed an agreement that will see $1.5 billion of Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) money available to be spent in the province. Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal said the five-year program will start April 3, which, he added, will mean a seamless transition between the current federal-provincial agriculture and food […] Read more
Get there first
Agriculture is constantly moving the yardsticks, which means there’s always a new business opportunity on the horizon. So, asks Rob Saik, founder of Agri-Trend: What are you waiting for?
Reading Time: 7 minutes This fall Country Guide chatted with Rob Saik founder and CEO of Agri-Trend as the innovative coaching company celebrates 20 years in business. He talked about the struggles of being and staying ahead of the innovation curve, the stumbles and wins, and what it was like to sell Agri-Trend to Trimble, the U.S. precision agriculture […] Read more
Guide HR: Nine tips for innovation
Innovation can be successfully harnessed on today’s farms. Here’s how
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some farmers seem to have a talent for developing new markets, new products, or new and better ways of getting things done. They innovate. Is that talent something they were born with? More to the point, can your enterprise promote innovation and creativity? Does environment contribute to innovation, and can you, as a leader, support […] Read more
A faster start
Cigi takes on early-generation testing in support of new wheat varieties
Reading Time: 3 minutes Testing early-generation samples is an important part of a process that is ultimately intended to improve the quality of Canadian wheat varieties. To support this process, the facilities at Cigi (the Canadian International Grains Institute) were put to the test from last November to the end of March, with more grain samples than ever coming […] Read more
Six questions for the ag entrepreneurs
So you’ve got an idea that might make a great new product or service. Should you invest in it?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Today’s agriculture isn’t your grandmother’s agriculture. While we still work the soil and practise animal husbandry, today we do so in wonderful ways that past generations could never imagine. From lasers and GPS to genomics and drones, agriculture has become a hotbed of innovation. Nor is ag innovation the exclusive domain of the major multinational […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
