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From the Hip

There is strong evidence that consumers are looking beyond the brand to product claims.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Consumers are looking beyond the brand, and that’s a big shift

Products like grass-fed beef and ‘milk’ made from oats create powerful images in the minds of people

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Reading Time: 3 minutes If you have ever found yourself wandering up and down the grocery store aisle with a furrowed brow as you make purchasing choices, you are not alone. We have all at some time been lost in the aisles and deviated from the list of things we just were going to ‘pop in’ for. What drives […] Read more
Less than two per cent of the Earth’s surface is fresh water.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Weighing up the world in terms of the water being used

The jeans you wear, gas for your car and food on the table all require a lot of water

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers have their eyes to the skies as they watch, and often wait, for water. Critical for all living things, water is more than just a raindrop and a good wash; it is a social determinate of health and the very foundation of our being and of food production. Less than two per cent of […] Read more
Can you have a regenerative system and still optimize carrying capacity and performance in the livestock that you graze or feed? The answer is yes!
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: People need to know livestock can be good for the environment

In a regenerative program, livestock bring a host of benefits — but that fact is being ignored

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Livestock have come under the magnifying lens as being destructive for the climate and for the environment. Producers have been quick to respond and Canada leads the way globally with its environmentally conscious and sustainable beef supply chain. However, society as a whole does not understand the role of livestock in systems. The concept of […] Read more
There is substantive evidence that regenerative farming is the future, as our current system will only ‘sustain’ for a short period of historical time.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: To sustain is one thing, to regenerate is something else

Sustainable agriculture has been a step forward but it is not the end of the journey

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Reading Time: 3 minutes For the past decade the focus on food and farming has been on sustainable systems. To be sustainable means to meet production needs without compromising the future, particularly our future natural resources. To farm sustainably is to ‘do no further harm’ or to maintain the current balance and to accept a level of accountability for […] Read more
Our daily routines place a heavy dependency on minerals that are mined to supply modern life, might agriculture offer a more sustainable path?
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: The consumption of minerals calls out for a new approach

Agriculture can offer some alternatives if we innovate and adopt a regenerative mindset

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Reading Time: 3 minutes In an agricultural context, the term mineral might take one’s thoughts straight to a balanced livestock diet or to the most recent soil test. It might lend itself to a water or blood test. But rarely are minerals thought of as something we consume by ingestion or external use. I checked out the amount of […] Read more
Our challenge is in embracing and executing the belief that technology is for the betterment of all of mankind.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Ag technology is a marvel but one that should be shared worldwide

There shouldn’t be haves and have-nots when it comes to the amazing advances in ag tech

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Reading Time: 3 minutes As farmers, we are exposed to a multitude of choices in agricultural technology. And today, college students in Canada can earn an agricultural technology degree or diploma. What an opportunity for young men and women who want to grow food! I recently participated in the Global Agriculture Technology Summit on the panel for Women in […] Read more
Might future growth for Canada’s fruit and vegetable industries be found indoors?
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Technology can be used to create new opportunities in Canadian agriculture

We can not only grow more veggies and fruits here, but also create new value-added sectors

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s food guide encourages putting fruits and vegetables at the centre of the plate. But to do this the nation is heavily dependent on imports, particularly from California. In 2019, Canada imported US$4.3 billion of vegetables, fruits and nuts from California. In total, Canada imports nearly US$6 billion in fruits and US$4 billion in vegetables […] Read more
Large volumes of food are being wasted due to an infrastructure incapacity to move, store or protect it.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Failing to deliver on its promise sparked the backlash against globalization

The huge amount of food waste because of inadequate infrastructure is a big part of the problem

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Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2014 the world economy stalled and for the first time the rapid pace of globalization slowed. The consequences were felt immediately in a measurable drop in GDP and in food insecurity. Undernourishment rose in 2015 and is now at levels not seen since 2010. Economists were quick to blame the slippage in globalized trade […] Read more
In many areas of the world there is a direct threat to farming.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Climate change policies — how will they impact your farm?

One of the newest initiatives is called rewilding and it illustrates the gulf between farmers and the public

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Will changes in climate policy impact land use on your farm? We don’t know yet in Canada but here are some considerations and examples from around the world. Agriculture, and in particular animal agriculture, has long been proclaimed by special interest groups as climate culprits and has been accused of a litany of woes, stemming […] Read more
There is no denying that the world remains hungry for protein, and in particular meat.
From the Hip, Opinion

Schoepp: Who will win the battle for the plates of consumers?

The rise of meat created from plants or in a lab is a fascinating, and multi-faceted, affair

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Who will win the plate on the battlefield of food animal versus plant- or cell-based meats? I have often wondered about the outcome of this raging war for the shelf, especially after I first noticed food animal companies investing in plant-based technologies. There is mounting evidence for the use of food animal over alternate meats […] Read more

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