Reading Time: 3 minutes There are many questions surrounding the use of data for and from farmers. Who owns the data? What is required? How does this benefit me as a farmer? I took to the streets with these questions as part as an ongoing quest to clarify just what it is that farmers may expect and more importantly, […] Read more
Data from your farm has value and shouldn’t be given away
But under current rules, the end-user of the data is the owner, which means farmers are giving away an increasingly valuable commodity
Lessons to learn from Quebec’s agriculture and agri-food industry
Canada is about food and Quebec is about processing — employing 475,189 in 2,100 facilities, most co-operatively owned
Reading Time: 3 minutes I spend a lot of time in Quebec and find the culture and the history of the province fascinating. It is in many regards, Canada’s little bit of Europe and the feel in the country is cosy. What most folks don’t see as they travel the countryside past long narrow tracks of land, vineyards and […] Read more
Trade deals open doors, but meeting customers’ needs is the key
Europe has agreed to lower its tariffs, but will only accept beef raised without growth promotants and beta-agonists
Reading Time: 3 minutes Trade agreements have changed in nature. Canada once went through a formal process via GATT or WTO. Now it is first come, first serve. This has been both favourable and limiting for our country. Trade liberalization is just that — the freeing of trade. This transcends from country to country and even penetrates from business […] Read more
Caring is the first step in change
Empowerment changes lives, and it happens with one little word, action, or act of kindness at a time
Reading Time: 3 minutes I have often been challenged to describe why it is important to empower those in our world — especially women outside of our community or country. Women who others may believe will never live their dream or even work to their potential because of the political or cultural environment in which they live. Girls and […] Read more
The formula for success on your farm
Straight from the hip: The challenges in farming are numerous and diverse, but Nuffield Scholar Jamie McCoy has found successful farmers have a common approach
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Jamie McCoy, my guest from Wales, sat around our fire last summer, she glowed with passion for the family farm. A fellow Nuffield Scholar, her project was to look at opportunities for small holdings. The release of her report in 2014, the International Year of Family Farming, could not be timelier. Of course the […] Read more
Women should take measures to avoid a hard landing
Planning ahead for your business is critical for when the day a crisis hits, or when you want to make big changes
Reading Time: 3 minutes I do a lot of flying and still to this day find the takeoff rather exciting. After 35 years of travel there has never been an incident with takeoff — but the landings have been mixed. There were quite a few times when we could not land because of weather, and times when the pilot […] Read more
Schoepp: Farms on the war front
Straight from the hip: Food is a weapon of war, and farmers in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine are the latest pawns in this awful charade
Reading Time: 3 minutes It is an anxious time in our little world. The Internet brings us to the front lines every day as we watch and anticipate the outcome of conflict around the globe. As I scanned the news, I thought of the suffering of women and children — who asked no part in this charade. And I […] Read more
When it comes to seed, we live in a land of giants
Straight from the hip: Big seed, chemical, trading and retailing companies dominate world commerce
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Jack’s mother threw the bean seeds out the window, little did she know of their powers. Overnight, a large stalk had grown and Jack promptly climbed up the beanstalk to their future fortune. That fairy tale now mirrors reality as we look at the massive growth in GM seeds and their place in gardens […] Read more
Where will trade grow?
Straight from the hip: There is a host of buyers for Canadian beef and many opportunities to grow the sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes The average age of the farmer in Japan is now 62, and very few farms are being started. This has left land abandoned or underutilized, with Japanese farmers now supplying just 39 per cent of the nation’s caloric intake (down from 73 per cent in 1965), which is a measure of self-sufficiency. Japan is in […] Read more
Study shows talk of reforming beef industry is ‘all hat and no cattle’
Straight from the hip: Two recent studies underscore the deep divisions in the beef sector but also point a way to the future
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Beef Industry Synergy Study gathered 1,203 responses that clearly defined what folks thought of the current state of affairs. Nine out of ten respondents are not comfortable with the beef industry, the way it works, and who is in charge. This did not differ between age or income demographic nor was there regional […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
