Speaker doesn’t advocate a return to old-fashioned farming and welcomes agricultural advances like GM crops
Jay Ingram, a science communicator known for his work on the Discovery Channel, is a pragmatist when it comes to food production and the environment. He wants the public to be concerned about wildlife, habitat and ecosystems, but he also realizes that the world’s 7.3 billion people need to eat. “How can we produce enough […] Read moreNews
New technology key to food production
Managing farmer’s time first step in human resources
It wasn’t many years ago that the notion of managing human resources on a farm was a foreign concept. Human resource management was something other businesses did. But to quote a Bob Dylan song, “the times they are a-changin.” Management on a farm can be categorized into four main areas: marketing, operations, finance and human […] Read more
Ontario plan for wine, beer considered bust for growers
CHATHAM, Ont. — Government plans to expand wine and beer sales to as many as 300 additional grocery stores threatens an important market for Ontario’s farmers, says the president of the Association of Canadian Distillers. “In Ontario, everything we produce is produced with things grown in Ontario. Underline that — everything,” Jan Westcott told the […] Read more
Bill 6 not likely to prompt unions
There’s little chance that Alberta’s 60,000 farm workers will rush to join a union, says Fred Bayer, registrar with the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board. “It is fair to say that is a silly assumption that everybody is going to unionize. The workers must want to be represented by a union; the unions just don’t go […] Read more
Farmers must manage MRLs to avoid confusion
Producers must take the initiative in pushing for international standards to avoid having shipments rejected
The world of maximum residue limits for certain crop treatments is getting more complex. Countries are setting their own limits as Codex, the international body charged with setting MRLs, gets further behind. Canola pathologist and wheat breeder Ron Pidskalny of Strategic Vision Consulting said this makes them ever more difficult to track. “There are three […] Read moreResearcher Harvey Voldeng honoured
Harvey Voldeng, a honorary research associate at Agriculture Canada, has received the Seed of the Year award for the Maple Series of soybeans. SeCan and the University of Guelph presented the award Dec. 14. The Seed of the Year competition shines a light on a field crop that has been publicly developed in Canada. Maple […] Read more
AG Notes
Producers, customers discuss wheat crop Customers of Canadian wheat recently met with the Canadian International Grains Institute, the Canadian Grain Commission, Cereals Canada, exporters and producers from Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario. This was the second year that new crop seminars were presented to customers for the benefit of the value chain from producers to […] Read more
Mobile grain entrapment demonstration unit planned
A Canadian farm safety organization and prairie canola groups are teaming up to build and operate a mobile grain entrapment demonstration unit to help prevent more people from dying in grain accidents. “This grassroots support means that we have a solid start to this new and vital program,” said Marcel Hacault, executive director of the […] Read more
John Ross new Canadian Pork Council executive director
John Ross will replace Martin Rice as executive director of the Canadian Pork Council. Ross will start his new job Feb. 29 and work with Rice until the latter’s retirement at the end of April. His name is likely to be familiar to many in the Canadian meat industry. He is chair of the industry-government […] Read more
Bill 6 passes: anger ‘all out of proportion’
The bill, designed to protect paid farm workers, sparked protests and threats against members of the NDP government
Farmers drove their trucks down highways, parked their tractors outside meeting halls, carried signs on pitchforks, created Facebook pages and presented more than 22,000 signatures in the legislature, all in an effort to kill a controversial Alberta farm worker bill. But in the end, Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, […] Read more
