If you’re like most, the idea of filling out paperwork is rather low down on the “how I like to spend my free time” list. At the same time, the extra effort it takes to stay in the know and access government funding can be well worth it, as there are several options within Growing… Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The Five Nations Beef Alliance (FNBA) met in Australia for their annual conference. Tours and introductions began in Brisbane, then gradually migrated towards Cairns, where the conference concluded. Some of the topics discussed at the FNBA meetings, included discussions around: the letter of support for a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Country of Origin Labelling, consumer preferences, the Young… Read More
Hot on the heels of Chipotle’s “Scarecrow” scare tactics, comes the announcement from the fast-food chain A&W that it will now be serving “better beef” in both Canada and the U.S. What is better beef? Beef that was raised without the use of growth promotants, according to the company’s press release. A&W has devoted an… Read More
In this edition of the Beef Market Update for late September, Anne Wasko, marketing analyst with Gateway Livestock Exchange, offers commentary on last week’s on-feed cattle report out of the U.S. that added to the bullish outlook there. The hiccup is, she explains to RealAgriculture.com editor Lyndsey Smith, that the same bullish factors of tight… Read More
Ontario Premier and Minister of Agriculture Kathleen Wynne was on hand at Foodshare Toronto yesterday to announce that applications are now open for a new Local Food Fund. “Supporting local food does so much for Ontario. We are committed to working with our industry partners to increase the demand for local food, which will feed… Read More
Bees, as pollinators, are essential to food production worldwide. So when solid evidence of a link between corn planting and bee deaths in Ontario and Quebec was found, farmers and industry recognized the need to look into how to manage the risk of bee exposure to a particular insecticide class called neonicotinoids. As Steve Denys,… Read More
Photo credit: Via Flickr, Paul Xymon Garcia, 2010 Thanks to automation and good management (and perhaps necessity), some producers can farm vast tracts of land themselves with minimal help. But not all farmers are so fortunate. Certain industries, fruit and vegetables for example, require an exceptional commitment to human resources – along with hard work… 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
Owen Roberts is currently in Argentina, attending the IFAJ 2013 Congress. The photo above is courtesy Chuck Zimmerman. View the Flickr account here. Any export-intensive country for agriculture needs to be constantly tuned into global developments that influence what happens inside our own borders. Today, the search for those developments takes us to the backroads… Read More
Want to bury news? Send out your press release late on a Friday afternoon. You get bonus points if it’s the Friday before a long weekend, and the spokesperson most versed in the subject takes the next week as holidays (I call that the trifecta of bad news sharing). So, when I saw the Manitoba… 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
When Bob Dylan appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 playing an electric guitar, he was booed off the stage for being untrue to the genre. Ten years later, country awards named John Denver Entertainer of the Year – to the chagrin of presenter Charlie Rich (“Behind Closed Doors”), who, in front of millions… Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario, in collaboration with the Ontario Agri Business Association and soybean processors, has announced changes being made to the way soybean drying charges will be calculated under the Agreement for Marketing the Ontario Soybean Crop made under the Farm Products Marketing Act (O. Reg 485/09). According to the new terms, effective September 1,… 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
On the first anniversary of the launch of the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), and following the retirement of Rick Istead from the position, the AWC is pleased to welcome Doug Cornell as the new General Manager. Having developed and honed his skills in both start-up and corporate environments, Cornell is an entrepreneurial manager with an… Read More