In this riveting edition of Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Shaun Haney and Lyndsey Smith tackle hard-hitting news items, like the new CWB ad and whether or not it's funny and how PETA is apparently spying on ranchers, the only way they know how — with humour and sarcasm. In this segment, you'll find out why... Read More
Category: Opinion
By Cami Ryan You may have run across this article “10 Reasons We Don’t Need GM Foods” on the FoodConsumer website. It’s been making its rounds on social media (Facebook and Twitter). I would like to address some of the inaccuracies in this article – point by point: 1. GM foods won’t solve the food... Read More
The new Barley Council of Canada gets it: research and innovation, that’s what makes a difference to farmers. The Calgary-based council, formally incorporated last month, lists research and innovation at the front of its top five priorities. Others include best crop production practices, market development, market access and (I especially like this one) communication within... Read More
I saw a placard earlier this year around the University of Guelph declaring food is a right. Well, if that’s the case, then those who produce food better have rights too, rights that are shared with the public, clearly understood and widely accepted. A step in that direction takes place May 14, 2013, at the... Read More
With the slow start to planting and seeding in 2013 many farmers have spent more time in their shops fixing equipment that in the field. Also considering the findings of this weeks poll, in my opinion, across parts of the United States and Canada this spring is going to be one that focuses on logistics.... Read More
What's your technology mix? Phone and a laptop, phone, tablet and a laptop, or desktop, phone and a tablet? Or something else entirely? It's an expensive trial, this getting the right mix of useful gadgets, so certified AgNerds Shaun Haney and Peter Gredig decided to tackle the question. Inspired by Shaun's adoption of the lamely-named... Read More
We should all steal a page from Pulse Canada’s inventive approach to market expansions. The organization’s new Meal Planning for 9 Billion People video campaign pushes just about every button imaginable. First, the positioning. It sounds elementary, but feeding the world with meals as Pulse Canada suggests rather than simple saying “food” is brilliant. It... Read More
When the news broke that JBS was going to buy the XL Foods Lakeside plant after the fall 2012 ecoli crisis, many were relieved that a buyer had stepped up. The plant going dark was a much worse scenario for local cattle feeders. Now that the plant deal has closed we thought it would actually... Read More
The first Earth Day I remember was in 1989, even though the movement started many years before that. What, you say? How could I remember a non-holiday so specifically? I remember it because it's the day my barn cat turned house cat decided to bless us with three kittens — right in the middle of... Read More
It was great news this week that, following negotiations between Canada and China, canola producers and exporters here will have a shot at expanded access to the Chinese market. But to me, it was even more noteworthy that science, not politics, helped open the door. Science is constantly maligned in agriculture, particularly when product safety... Read More