Since the beginning of time, the business world has focused on size. The pursuit of scope and scale to lower cost of production, increase efficiency, and expand markets has been celebrated from the hallways of Boeing and CN Rail to farms in Saskatchewan and Ontario. In Canada we have big farms and we have small… Read More
The recently announced Bill C-290, the Soil Conservation Act, has many steps to pass through before becoming an act. The premise of the bill — supporting efforts to create a national soil health strategy, that soil is the foundation for sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity, cleaner air and water, and are at the root of… Read More
After what feels like a never-ending game of extra innings baseball, the standoff between the Prairie provinces and the federal government over changes to AgriStability needs to end. All stakeholders are exhausted from the timeline-stretching, blown deadlines, fake outrage, and pure avoidance to find a solution to a rather simple issue. At different times it… Read More
We’ve been told many times over the last few years about the important role of agriculture and soil in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. But as the Canadian government’s policies aimed at reducing carbon emissions take shape, it appears many Canadian farmers will not be eligible for any reward through the Liberal… Read More
By Meagan Murdoch In early February, Calgary-based cookbook author Julie Van Rosendaal asked on social media whether anyone else had noticed that butter is no longer soft at room temperature. Her question helped spark a national and international conversation about Canadian butter. To some it probably seemed like a light-hearted conundrum against the backdrop of… Read More
In February of 2016, I witnessed farmers and ranchers unite across the province in passionate protest against the newly introduced Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act. We saw protests from farmers like those you see in France including tractor parades, homemade signs, chanting and, to my guilty pleasure, protest pizza…. Read More
It has been a really tough ninety days if you are a die-hard believer in the need to develop a code of practice for grain production in Canada. Although other agricultural sectors have had national codes for years, the concept has really struggled to gain support with grain farmers on the Prairies in and outside… Read More
If you’re on social media, listening to the radio, or watching TV today, you’re likely familiar with #BellLetsTalk day. For every text, call, tweet, or TikTok video using the hashtag “#BellLetsTalk,” or Facebook frame or Snapchat filter used, Bell Media will donate 5 cents toward mental health initiatives in Canada. Every year when this day… Read More
With consultations underway for the Responsible Grain code of practice, farmers are expressing varied levels of support and frustration towards the concept. Echo chambers have developed on both sides of the issue, with what I perceive to be the majority of farmers in the middle looking for facts and understanding of what Responsible Grain is… Read More
As we drift into a new year, an opportunity presents itself to refocus and take a fresh look at the issues at hand. Some people make New Year’s resolutions, some think about changes, and others take advantage of the fresh calendar to implement real change to benefit stakeholders and their own position. This restart with… Read More
I’ve been hearing a lot about sustainability lately. It’s been showing up in headlines more and more, and it has almost become one of those buzzwords that everyone uses: “Our farm is sustainable.” But what does that really mean? A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to speak at the Canadian Young Speakers… Read More
The federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meeting concluded last week with a press conference hosted by Ontario’s Ag Minister, Ernie Hardeman, and the federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie Claude Bibeau. At the meeting, Bibeau presented the federal government’s offer to fund changes to AgriStability — but, according to the provinces, it was the first time they’d… Read More
Grain markets moved into the second half of November largely in the green, thanks to USDA sharing some bullish data in their November WASDE report. Soybean and canola prices continue to reach new multi-year highs as export demand remains strong, stocks continue to tighten, and weather concerns remain for the South American crop. Wheat prices… Read More
There has been no shortage of topics and tweets to discuss regarding the Canada-U.S. relationship and trade across the border over the last four years, as President Donald Trump sought to shake up the status quo to the United States’ advantage. This included applying tariffs to Canadian exports in the name of national security, and… Read More
Grain markets were able to find some fresh gains for the first week of November, one which was very much overshadowed by the U.S. election. While Friday saw some selling in the grain markets, it was a still a relative positive week, but it was one that history will likely remember for the controversial words… Read More