Reading Time: 4 minutes My son gifts me a subscription to a Quebec-based cuisine magazine entitled Ricardo. The last issue had a little sidebar that read, “If you calculate the time elapsed from the moment seeds are sown, the festive meal takes an average of 295 days to land on our tables.” When you think about great meals in […] Read more
Every item of the feast has a great story behind it
When the table is set, give thanks to those who grew and processed the food — and all those who played a role in its history
We need to dig deep and better understand our soils
Healthy soil is our greatest asset, and farm practices focused on just the short term undermine our competitive advantage
Reading Time: 3 minutes I believe that at some point in history, we will fully appreciate and understand that healthy soil is our greatest competitive advantage and the most valuable asset on Earth. As agriculture is the foundation of all civilization, we cannot ignore the evolution of food production. We have gone from gathering food to industrialized agriculture and […] Read more
Asking the questions that need to be asked
An innovative summit takes a frank look at the troubled U.K. dairy industry and what needs to change
Reading Time: 3 minutes Agrihive is an innovative new company out of Australia conceived by an idea that fellow Nuffield scholar James Walker had on his travels. His dream was to start a platform to tackle global issues and create actionable ideas. Part of that involves a U.K. Dairy Summit that was broadcast live on YouTube from London. The […] Read more
Our future Canadian farm leaders need to network
There is incredible diversity in the ag sector and great benefit in sharing ideas with farmers in other sectors
Reading Time: 3 minutes If we are to spread our wings in agriculture, it is often a good idea to look around. We gain an appreciation of the whole of agriculture if we look at all of it, rather than be limited to our sector. There are many good examples of how commitment can bring something into the mainstream. […] Read more
Sowing gardens — and hope for a brighter future
A school garden may seem like a small thing but it can make a powerful difference
Reading Time: 3 minutes This is the story of Jimboy. He is my friend from the Philippines — one of the 100 million people who live on the nation’s 300,000 square kilometres of islands. And he is making a difference. Jimboy lives in the Tagoloan region which is 19 kilometres from the capital. It is largely an agricultural area […] Read more
The world is going online — and that includes the grocery store
Only a small percentage of people currently buy groceries online, but the sector is poised for explosive growth
Reading Time: 3 minutes Where do you buy your groceries? The answer to that question is getting more attention these days because more consumers now say they buy online. The growth of e-commerce has stretched beyond books, movies, parts and retro finds and is now filling the food basket. As folks shift to online buys it means an increase […] Read more
We need to look at land in the larger context
Fear of ‘peak soil’ is driving global investment and raising questions about who will control it in the future
Reading Time: 3 minutes A man named Louis Glickman once said, “The best investment on Earth – is earth.” And what do we, as farmers, know of this great gift? We know it is the foundation of civilization, the centre of well-being, and the giver of abundance, including joy. We know that it is scarred with the battles that […] Read more
Schoepp: What’s a more important sector: oil or agriculture?
Take a comprehensive look at the facts and the answer is obvious
Reading Time: 4 minutes As we drove through the blueberry fields and cranberry bogs in southern B.C., I thought of economic generators. What, I wondered, was a bigger sustainable economic generator to our nation: oil or agriculture? An environmental scan of an industry must include the long-term effects on people and the planet. The structures that we employ for […] Read more
Making room for youth — and youthful thinking — in farming
Young farmers love technology and are excited by change, but they’re often penned in by the walls of tradition
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers often lament the lack of youth in agriculture. I would argue that this is not true — there are a lot more baby strollers than walkers at major agricultural conferences, especially ones where technology is highlighted. There may be fewer young farmers, but the young men and women farming today have a broader reach […] Read more
Schoepp: Big picture ignored in supply management debate
Critics focus on milk powder, but the real issue is about creating valued-added products while protecting farm families
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadians produce over 700 kinds of cheese. It makes me smile to think of all the small processors and farmers who delight in cheese making. Cheese also contributes $69 million in exports every year. Sounds like a good-news story and as Canadians we tend to focus on what we know — and we know cheese […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
