Although only in the role for under a year, Syngenta Canada president Trevor Heck is no stranger to the company. Heck has been with Syngenta for more than 26 years in various positions. Every second year in late October, Syngenta holds its annual Media Summit. While in attendance, RealAgriculture’s Jessika Guse got the chance to… Read More
Category: CEO interviews
Pulses will likely be on the menu as Prime Minister Trudeau meets with his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Modi, later this month, but Canada’s pulse sector is counting on them also being on the business agenda. There’s no mention of pulse crops or India’s steep tariffs on Canadian pulse exports in the notice from the… Read More
Interested in growing camelina for Three Farmers? Get ready to intercrop. Three Farmers, a Saskatchewan-based snack food company, is offering, for the first time, production contracts for camelina, an oilseed crop. A stipulation of the contract is that camelina be grown in tandem with either pea or lentil. Likely the first-of-its-kind stipulation in a crop… Read More
In the dairy food value chain processors play an integral role in product development. Dairy product development puts dairy components in protein bars, protein powder, ice cream, yogurt and baby formula. to name just a few. At Farm Journal’s MILK Business Conference, attendees heard from Micheal Dykes, President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association…. Read More
Change is good. Change is the only constant. Be the change you want to see in the world. There’s no shortage of sayings that reference change. Michael Barrett, president and CEO of Gay Lea Foods, prefers, though, to use imagery when discussing change and being ready for it. In his words, there are lines in the sand,… Read More
Shaun Haney is in Germany this week as a guest of Bayer, celebrating 20 years of the company’s InVigor brand. The world is big place, sure, but when it comes to agriculture, it’s actually quite small. As people move up the ladder within companies, they frequently get to spend time in other countries to build experience. … Read More
Shaun Haney is in Germany this week as a guest of Bayer, celebrating 20 years of the company’s Invigor brand. During the Bayer InVigor 20th anniversary party we heard an address by Liam Condon, Bayer Crop Science CEO. He was fresh off a flight from Chicago where he was working on the acquisition of Monsanto…. Read More
With the domino effect of agri-business mergers, farmers are wondering what a new version of the combined companies look like. With canola being a smaller crop globally, Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto will likely not get much attention from the U.S. Department of Justice, but it could be of interest to the Canadian Competition Bureau. Canadian farmers are certainly… Read More
As CEO of Venture Communications, author, and former venture capitalist on the CBC series Dragons’ Den, it’s no wonder Arlene Dickinson needs little introduction. Dickinson was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference on Wednesday, where she led delegates on a tour of her successes as well as her failures. “I think… Read More
It’s an organization developed to “cultivate an appreciation for food and farming” across the country, a feat that requires conversation, and a “giant Team Canada effort,” says executive director and soon-to-be-CEO of Farm and Food Care Canada (FFC) Crystal Mackay. Mackay to Lead National Farm & Food Care Group Mackay says the effort should see… Read More
What’s your opinion on Canada’s agriculture research direction? If you’re like most, you probably have an opinion on the importance of research, what needs more attention, or how priorities need to shift, but imagine if you had to sit down and actually create the roadmap forward of achieving those goals. It’s quite the challenge, but a… Read More
What does every farmer want out of a crop? Yield and profitability. From variety selection, to fertilizer rates, and crop protection products, farmers are always looking for new ways to stack the deck in their favour. Of course, the best laid plans can be thwarted by a cold, wet spring, or dry weather and drought…. Read More
Only 53% of women have the confidence to invest money, while 82% of their male counterparts are confident investing money, Gwen Paddock, national manager, agriculture and agribusiness, client and business strategy at RBC Royal Bank, told delegates at this year’s Advancing Women Conference in Calgary. Yet, Paddock explained, women tend to be better investors than men…. Read More
How has farming changed? Put another way, how have expectations of farmers changed? Significantly, says CropLife Canada president and CEO Ted Menzies. And, what’s more, farmers are rising to the challenge. Real Agriculture’s Shaun Haney sat down with Menzies at the recent Grow Canada Conference held at Ottawa, Ontario, earlier this month, to talk about… Read More
Genetic resistance to clubroot is breaking down in western Canada, Bt traits are losing efficacy in the States and weeds such as palmer amaranth and kochia are swiftly becoming resistant to glyphosate. Is biotechnology really offering sustainable solutions to agricultural woes? According to Maurice Moloney, group executive, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia, though western Canadian farmers… Read More