Reading Time: 3 minutes Even though the ‘two-week no-grain challenge’ may be anxiety inducing, implementing it can offer surprisingly beneficial results for both horse and human. Humans often equate food with love and unknowingly project these feelings on to their animal family — cats, dogs and horses. So this grain-free challenge, touted in some horse websites and forums, often triggers […] Read more
Taking the two-week grain-free challenge is worthwhile
Removing grain or processed feeds from your horse can be a good starting point in identifying dietary issues
Schoepp: When did food producers become the bad guys in movies?
‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’ is the latest offering that looks to the food sector to find a villain
Reading Time: 3 minutes A chance to hang out with my granddaughters during New Year’s was celebrated with treats and a movie. We watched “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” a new film based on the 1963 book of the same name. Clifford and his friend Emily Elizabeth are always on an adventure. In the movie, Clifford’s size attracts more […] Read more
Use that extra at-home time to boost your learning
Fewer meetings and networking opportunities offer more time to discover other info sources
Reading Time: 2 minutes As the world is recovering from and dealing with COVID-19 in 2022, we all are becoming more accustomed to keeping our bubble small. By spending more time at home and on our farms and ranches — and relying more on deliveries instead of getting out in person — how do we keep up with improvements […] Read more
Schoepp: Pitting one farming practice against another benefits no one
Dismissing regenerative agriculture — or synthetic fertilizer — out of hand is not the way forward
Reading Time: 3 minutes The use of synthetic nitrogen is being debated around the world by farmers and scientists. Stirring the discussion further last month was an opinion piece titled “Nutrient Claims are Crap” written by Jaqueline Rowarth in a New Zealand publication called Rural News. In it, the agrologist took a run at regenerative agriculture, describing it as […] Read more
Schoepp: The narrow definition of a farmer is far from the whole story
The full story of farming needs to be told more often, and we should be proud to do that
Reading Time: 3 minutes A farmer is defined by Merriam-Webster as a person who cultivates land or crops or raises animals. I find the definition too narrow as it does not portray the depth and breadth of food production. From the tiny fields where mulberry is grown to feed the silkworms and the pots of herbs on a windowsill […] Read more
Horses have many ways to stay warm during the winter
Putting on a blanket or feeding more grain can sometimes do more harm than good
Reading Time: 3 minutes The horse is remarkably adapted and adept at staying warm as the winter season arises and temperatures plunge into the double digits. In order to stay warm, the horse requires resources to do so. If its environment and circumstance do not meet the requirements needed to physiologically thermoregulate and generate internal heat, the horse may […] Read more
The simple act of taking a temperature is a powerful health aid
A reading can be a warning, a sign that treatment is working or can define how sick an animal is
Reading Time: 3 minutes All of us in cattle production need to have thermometers and take the temperature of animals we are treating, especially when it comes to respiratory disease. Normal bovine temperature is 38.5 C to 39.5 C (or 101 F to 103 F), which is higher than for humans (or horses). While you as producers are very […] Read more
Schoepp: Does sourcing ingredients from around the world really make sense?
It’s time that consumers were offered the chance to buy truly Canadian food products
Reading Time: 3 minutes Have you ever felt betrayed when you bought a food product? I am fascinated by brand claims and food sources. One day I simply emptied the nearest cupboard to see where the food came from and what was in the manufactured products that now were scattered on the counter. The pure Atlantic Sea Salt I […] Read more
Forage is the key to healthy diets in horses
Forages don’t get a marketing push, but they play important roles in many areas
Reading Time: 4 minutes Horses both need forage and horses need to forage. Both aspects are equally nourishing to the horse and both aspects are necessary to fully satisfy their physical, emotional and mental contentment. Forage comes without a feed label and receives very little marketing attention compared to the enterprising sales campaigns for designer equine rations. Many of […] Read more
Schoepp: It’s harder for women to put food on table when they’re paid less
Many women make one-third less than men doing similar work
Reading Time: 3 minutes One in seven Canadians is food insecure. I wondered: Just who are the food insecure throughout this vast nation? Where do they live and what is the relationship between food security, location, culture or income? Those persons who are the most food insecure in Canada live in remote places. The population of Nunavut is 57 […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
