Reading Time: < 1 minute FVGC announces Erik Nielsen will step into the newly-created role of Director of Policy, Research, and Public Affairs
Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada appoint policy lead
Evolutionary origins of the potato revealed – and a tomato was involved
Study, which analyzed genomes from cultivated and wild potatoes, may improve future breeding
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new analysis of 450 genomes from cultivated potatoes and 56 genomes of wild potato species has revealed that the potato lineage originated through natural interbreeding between a wild tomato plant and a potato-like species in South America about 9 million years ago.
In Chile’s Atacama, world’s driest desert, growing lettuces with fog
Reading Time: 2 minutes In Chile's arid Atacama, the driest desert in the world, growers and researchers are looking to harness water from the very air itself to grow lettuces and lemons, using a net to catch drops of moisture from fog.
Expanding greenhouse sector means more home-grown veggies
Plenty of room to expand in controlled environment agriculture, but investment needed says FCC
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada continues to rely heavily in imported fruits and vegetables, especially during its long winters but different types of controlled environment agriculture like greenhouses are expanding and changing the balance says Farm Credit Canada.
Quebec farmers still learning after 10 years
After a decade farming, these Quebec farmers know that there’s always more to learn
Reading Time: 11 minutes Have you ever met a young farmer who was fresh out of ideas? Neither have we. The utter thrill of getting into farming for the first time is incomparable. The freedom to make one’s own decisions and, rightly or wrongly, see those decisions through. With time, of course, farmers gain perspective. Perhaps those older voices […] Read more
A guide for farm growth
Vision statements are more common on today’s farms. How can creating one help you?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Why does your farm need a vision? To Jeannette French and her husband Brian, co-owners of Lennox Farms in Melancthon, Ont., the answer is simple. “No matter your farm size, a vision is something that drives you every day. It’s born from your values and is the backbone of what you believe.” Six years ago, […] Read more
‘Partner up’ to help diversify your farm
Rosemary Wotske and Cam Beard need new rules. Do you?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Farm partnerships are taking a new direction today. Of course there are still traditional arrangements — formal or informal — between farmers, like those that share the cost of equipment, and there are contractual arrangements, too, like those between a crop processor and a farmer delivering specific specs. More and more, though, farmers are partnering […] Read more
Smucker to shed Bick’s brand
Pickle brand, other Canadian condiments to go to TreeHouse
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. food firm J.M. Smucker has a deal in place to sell off the Canadian pickle brand Bick’s and a portfolio of condiment brands it makes for the Canadian market. Ohio-based Smucker announced Oct. 17 it will sell the Bick’s brand plus the Habitant pickled beets, Woodman’s horseradish and McLarens pickled onions brands to Illinois […] Read more
Robots may help grain farmers diversify
Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more
Limagrain offers to buy out seed maker Vilmorin
Pride Seeds co-owner has majority stake in veg seed firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French agricultural co-operative Limagrain has offered to buy the 28.78 per cent of Vilmorin it does not already own in a deal that values one of the world’s biggest seed suppliers at 1.43 billion euros (C$2.13 billion). Limagrain said on Friday it was offering 62.60 euros per Vilmorin share, a premium […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
