Reading Time: 3 minutes Pizza Pizza is the latest brand to sport Dairy Farmers of Canada’s “Blue Cow” certification-of-origin mark in its marketing, putting an old fight over the pizza chain’s cheese provenance to rest. DFC and Toronto-based, TSX-traded Pizza Pizza — which as of March 31 included 622 Pizza Pizza and 103 Pizza 73 outlets across eight provinces […] Read more
Blue Cow comes to Pizza Pizza
Dairy Farmers of Canada branding to go on display
Alberta hog farmers to get set-aside via AgriRecovery
Producers get funds for feeding held-back market hogs
Reading Time: 3 minutes An AgriRecovery plan announced Friday is set to pay eligible Alberta farmers 95 cents per day per market-ready hog toward the animals’ upkeep during the shutdown of the province’s biggest hog slaughter plant. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Sollio Co-operative, reopened its plant at Red Deer this week after announcing Feb. 15 it would […] Read more
Feds back pork producers with new levy on imports
New national pork agency to be up and running next summer
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new agency will use funds from a new levy on imported pork to pay for research and promotion for the Canadian pork sector. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie Claude Bibeau on Thursday officially announced the creation of the Canadian Pork Promotion and Research Agency (PRA). The Farm Products Council of Canada (FPCC) and Agriculture and […] Read more
India’s controversial farm bills become law despite protests
Reading Time: < 1 minute New Delhi | Reuters — India’s president on Sunday approved three controversial agricultural bills amid nationwide protests by farmers who say the new laws will stunt their bargaining power and instead allow large retailers to have control over pricing. Farmers’ organizations say one of the three laws could lead to the government stopping buying grain […] Read more
Indian cabinet minister quits over farm legislation
Reading Time: 2 minutes New Delhi | Reuters — India’s minister for food processing resigned on Thursday over her opposition to planned laws to allow farmers to sell produce directly to bulk buyers and make contract farming easier, saying the legislation will hurt millions of the country’s farmers. “Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” Harsimrat […] 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
Why marketing is the test, no matter how great your idea
“It’s a mind-shift,” says value-add pro Gary Morton. Success takes groundwork, strategic planning… and money
Reading Time: 3 minutes Branding that identifies you as the producer and connects buyers to your farm product is a key strategy for adding value to farm products, says Halifax-based business consultant Gary Morton with Morton Horticultural Associates. “You are kind of in a sea of sameness,” says Morton, who has worked with all types of farms, not only […] Read more
The look of leadership
Known for Sunterra’s bold, future-looking moves, what traits does Ray Price see in the farmers he thinks can up their game for the 2020s?
Reading Time: 9 minutes If Japan starts handing out honourary citizenships, you better believe Ray Price will be on their short list. Already, the Alberta-born farm boy has been to the Land of the Rising Sun more than 100 times representing Sunterra, the Price family’s storied, successful and diversified business. The Prices export a majority of their pork directly […] Read more
Ontario beef checkoff to rise by $1.50
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario beef farmers have approved an increase of $1.50 in checkoff per animal to fund an ambitious industry-wide marketing effort for Ontario beef. Producers at the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) annual meeting in Mississauga on Wednesday voted 87 per cent in favour of the plan. A similar plan was rejected at last year’s annual […] Read more
Beyond commodity agriculture: Business decisions for your farm
AME Management: Whatever approach you take, the aim should be to improve your bottom line
Reading Time: 4 minutes When commodity prices are on their way to finding a bottom, many producers look to change their business model away from commodity crop and livestock production. While this is not a new phenomenon, it is becoming a more important strategy as the traditional commodity strategy — i.e. to increase scale — becomes harder to execute. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
