Researchers in British Columbia say the Okanagan could produce two-thirds of its own food while maintaining exports
Glacier FarmMedia – It’s replete with orchards, vineyards and other farms, but British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley can’t feed itself. Assuming food grown in the region is first sold and consumed there, the Okanagan is 38 per cent self-sufficient, according to Kwantlen Polytechnic University researcher Kent Mullinix. Local food consumption isn’t prioritized in the area, he […] Read moreTag Archives Local Food
Will the COVID crisis cause a food revolution?
Innovative technologies are waiting on the shelf, but will they finally be embraced?
There’s been lots of blather about exciting food and agriculture industry technological innovations. “Smart” everything has been talked about for more than a decade. My newspaper has published dozens of stories about the possibilities of blockchain. The “internet of things” is a term buzzing away at every farm and ag conference out there. But it’s […] Read more
Will the wild changes in the grocery, food and farming systems survive the pandemic?
What will create lasting changes and what is transitory?
The food, farming and grocery sectors have been shocked by the coronavirus crisis. Packing plants have been temporarily shuttered, creating crises on hog farms and cattle feedlots that can’t move animals they have no space for. Food products that everybody has taken for granted for decades, such as flour and yeast, have become suddenly scarce, […] Read more
Prairie growers focus on year-round products
Small-scale producers selling locally grown produce are starting to compete side-by-side with California vegetables on store shelves throughout the cold prairie winters. The Prairies are famous for shipping massive amounts of food and food ingredients around the world, but many prairie residents are used to importing fresh fruits and vegetables to get through winter. Now, […] Read more
Alta. aims to bolster local food sector
New provincial legislation will create a local food council and local food week and change organic certification
As demand for food grown and made in Alberta continues to surge, the province is hoping a slight boost to the sector will help it expand further. The province tabled the Supporting Alberta’s Local Food Sector Act in the legislature last week. Once passed, it will allow for the establishment of a local food council, […] Read more
Local food demand soars in Alberta
Consumers continue to clamour for food produced in the province, but the increased demand come with its challenges
Demand for food grown and made in Alberta continues to be on the upswing, according to a recent provincial survey. The survey, released last September by Alberta Agriculture, shows that the market value for farmers markets reached $924 million in 2016, which is nearly quadruple what the value was in 2004. As well, the report […] Read more
Alta. aims to bolster local food sector through new legislation
As demand for food grown and made in Alberta continues to surge, the province is hoping a slight boost to the sector will help it further expand. The province tabled the Supporting Alberta’s Local Food Sector Act in the legislature today. Once passed, it will allow for the establishment of a local food council, which […] Read more
VIDEO: A practical outlook
Manitoba entrepreneur applies personal philosophy about using local, healthy foods to create thriving business
As a rich, marzipan-like scent wafts out of a tiny container of brass-gold oil that she is holding, Mila Maximets muses on years of painstaking efforts to use all parts of the tart cherries she processes. “I’m not into juices,” said Maximets, who has been manufacturing a seabuckthorn puree for five years and has just […] Read more
Restaurant gets food from the source
As a young chef, Blair Lebsack questioned why most food arrived in boxes on a truck from a central supply depot. “I always asked the driver where it came from and he didn’t know,” he said. Lebsack had grown up on a mixed farm near Red Deer where they raised livestock and garden produce for […] Read more
Farmers launched bold plan
LLOYDMINSTER, Sask. — If it’s true that the first five years in business are the toughest, then John and Robin Acton must wonder what lies ahead for their Lower Shannon Farms. Three years ago they took a chance that people in northwestern Saskatchewan would appreciate and, more importantly, buy locally grown produce year-round. They were […] Read more
