How is agriculture and food production impacting the planet? Many naysayers believe our farming and food system is taking its toll, linking agriculture to 10 to 15 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, while painting it as a resource hog that gobbles up 40 percent of the earth’s land base and 70 percent of its… Read More
The customer is always right, but who is the customer? If you’re a grocery store or a coffee shop trying to stay on-trend, is it consumer opinion that matters most, or those of your shareholders, as the pressure for profits rises? “The demands of the average consumer are pretty intuitive — they want affordable, tasty… Read More
The Government of Canada will soon be rolling out its Buy Canadian campaign across the nation, but first it must find a marketing firm to stick-handle the $1.5 to $4 million yearly budget. In a notice posted to a government job portal, they’re on the hunt for a firm to help with their digitally-focused campaign to… Read More
If you’ve driven the open stretch of Trans-Canada highway between Winnipeg and Brandon, you may have noticed a new build project not far from Portage la Prairie. French company Roquette is set to open its pea processing plant by the end of 2020, which means it’s gearing up to start purchasing yellow peas this fall…. Read More
At some point, likely every farmer has been frustrated with markets and pricing, and thought about moving past commodity production and up the value chain. But as many quickly learn, direct marketing, dealing with processors, or even becoming a processor is not for everyone. In this episode of Mind Your Farm Business, Jeff Nonay, a… Read More
An Alberta rancher has been chosen as McDonald’s Canada first-ever Canadian representative of its global breeders and model farmers program. Stephen Hughes of Chinook Ranch, will join 33 other producers, breeders, farmers, and growers from 17 different countries as part of the company’s global program. According to a news release, the members represent eight different… Read More
A new study shows the average Canadian family will pay $487 more on food in 2020. Canada’s Food Price Report was released this week by the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute (AFI) in collaboration with Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab. The forecast shows the average Canadian household total grocery bill will rise to $12,667…. Read More
Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited has confirmed its acquisition of Thornloe Cheese from EastGen. Located in Northern Ontario, Thornloe Cheese has been a local producer of cheese and cheese curds near Thornloe, Ont., for over 75 years. Employing about 30 people, Thornloe is known for its speciality cheese and recently introduced the first butter and… Read More
The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef held its general assembly at Christchurch, New Zealand, last week. As chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Anne Wasko was there and shares her insight and experience below: As the current chair of Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), I was pleased to represent CRSB at the… Read More
Before companies can sell Canadian wheat and durum to global customers, they first need to get a handle on crop grade and overall quality. The Harvest Sample program is a big part of getting this early data. From that program, CIGI and the Canadian Grain Commission run a test on not just grade and grade… Read More
If you try to tell Food Bubble host Andrew Campbell there’s nothing spoiling in your fridge, he won’t believe you. “After all,” he says, “some reports have pointed out that of all the food we bring into our house, about 20 per cent of it goes out by way of the garbage. Think about that… Read More
As weather continues to delay the 2019 harvest, Rogers Sugar has made a decision that’s none too sweet. Citing “severe adverse weather in Alberta” for the sugar beet crop, the company has made a decision to terminate its beet harvest. According to a news release, the company says roughly 60,000 to 70,000 metric tonnes of… Read More
As the saying goes, if Henry Ford had listened to what his customers wanted, they would have said, “Faster horses.” For Nicole Zeni, that innovation philosophy means that while you do need to listen to your customers, you must be open to change, and challenged to thinking broadly and for the long term. Zeni manages… Read More
The beverage landscape has changed remarkably in recent decades. In the 1970s, milk competed with three beverages — soft drinks, coffee, and juice. But today, consumer taste and choice knows no limits, whether it be sparkling juice, fusion drinks, pea protein drinks, cold brew coffee, or drinkable yogurt, the beverage list keeps growing. Can milk… Read More
Connecting with consumers is a massive challenge for agriculture. The industry has developed several programs and groups to close those gaps, such as the Canadian Center for Food Integrity and Ag More Than Ever. But as we saw in Monday’s federal election, there is an ideological separation between the urban and rural population. That divide… Read More