Respiratory disease and distress can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from viruses to drastic changes in diet. Signs and symptoms, though alike, often go undetected, their subtleties akin to those of other prey animals, who mask illness in order to fool predators. By the time producers or health professionals recognize symptoms, the ailment… Read More
Technology has won me a lot of opportunities in life, so don’t act surprised to hear I’m excited about the recent availability of Blackberry Messenger (BBM) to our Apple/Android traitors, I mean, friends. Here are three meager reasons I think you should give the program a try: Groups. Since our farm slowly moved towards the… Read More
The internationally un-known artist, Banksy, has expanded his portfolio with two recent food-related exhibits in New York City. The first takes aim at McDonald’s, with a life-size statue of Ronald McDonald. The exhibit includes a young boy, polishing McDonald’s oversized clown shoes, and will be moved to a new McDonald’s restaurant daily. An audio recording on… Read More
If you have cows, you’re no stranger to traditional weaning tactics and you’ve also likely heard of both fence-line and nose-flap weaning. Calves weaned in both manners have been shown to walk less, eat more and call less than their traditionally-weaned counterparts. Reducing stress doesn’t end with one magical weaning strategy, however. It’s best to couple… Read More
Earlier this month, the Washington State Academy of Science published a white paper on Initiative 522 (I-522), a Washington State initiative aimed to institute mandatory labeling of food containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). On November 5th, the initiative will be taken to the public, and the state will vote on the proposal. The debate continues… Read More
In case you haven’t heard, the 2013 winners of the Hult Prize (a $1M prize to help entrepreneurs start a proposed business) is a group of students from McGill, who have addressed this year’s theme, “The Global Food Crisis,” with — you guessed it —crickets! Aspire Food Group aims to grow, prepare and sell edible insects. Currently,… Read More
Winter is in the forecast for some regions of Canada and the United States, and as harvest wraps up, it’s time to start thinking about storing your equipment. If you’re completely knackered from the go-go-go of harvest, sit down, have a cup of coffee, read this and then begin delegating. As tempting as it is… Read More
The Canadian Grain Commision (CGC) launched two online, dichotomous keys to help producers identify stored grain insect pests today. I took a test run of the keys, and found them to be fast, simple and totally within my budget (free) — so, nothing like their paper counterparts. A dichotomous key is relatively simple to use,… Read More
A couple days ago, I posted the question: Do you know where your check-off dollars go? It’s interesting, that such a simple question can result in such diverse feedback. I heard from organizations who were offended by my article and those who admired it and used it as a means to reach audiences they may not… Read More
I didn’t know much about agriculture when I started farming, so there were questions I didn’t ask, and things I didn’t worry about. “Check-off dollars” made that list. I sort of sloughed it off as one of the necessities of the industry, ignoring the details and giving the organizations that benefited all the trust in… Read More
I’ve been thinking a lot about consumer awareness and needs, as the movement to “tell your [ag] story” continues to grow. I have concerns with some of the messages I’ve seen, and some I once felt compelled to give. I’ve heard again and again that consumers must be aware of where their food comes from…. Read More
The Young Cattlemen’s Council (YCC) was officially formed on August 12, 2013 with the election of an Interim board at the Inaugural YCC Meeting (and just when you thought you’d finished memorizing acronyms relating to Canadian agriculture). The meeting was held in conjunction with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) Semi-Annual Meeting in London, Ontario. Development of the… Read More
After a busy week of networking, mind mapping and proposing solutions to food insecurity at the Youth Ag Summit in Calgary, I am now preparing to leave for Australia to meet up with the Five Nations Beef Alliance. Who is that, now? Allow me to elaborate. Four of the world’s major beef producing nations –… Read More
As a result of the international Youth Ag Summit, hosted in Calgary, Alberta, a global committee on food security has been formed. The executive (pictured below) is comprised primarily of youth volunteers and will spear-head the continuation of the summit’s discussion around food security. As a part of the Summit’s agenda, delegates and mentors were… Read More
You’ve already heard a little bit about the Youth Ag Summit and my second Breakfast Television appearance (the first involving less talk, more dance). I have a little over an hour to try to drum together some of the happenings here at the summit, before we are shuffled back into presentations, sessions, breakout groups and networking…. Read More