Reading Time: 3 minutes Homesteaders. They came on the promise of free land. They stayed because they could not afford to turn back and root by root created the origin of the western agricultural world. The era of horses and pickaxes seems like a long time ago, but the reality is that free land is still very real in […] Read more
The lure of free land is drawing in a new type of homesteader
There is no shortage of young people wanting to be farmers, and some communities are tapping into that with offers of free or cheap land
Better credit risk, smaller loan
It’s not just that women get turned down for loans more often, but that too many aren’t getting a proper financial education
Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2014, I published a detailed report on the development of mentorship programs for women in agriculture from a global perspective. This report (which can be found at brendaschoepp.com) has since given flight to a number of global study topics with other Nuffield Scholars. Recently, a report in Alberta published by the Agriculture & Food […] Read more
There is truth in old sayings, and value in flipping them around
We should challenge ourselves by welcoming other perspectives, questioning conventional wisdom, and encouraging diversity
Reading Time: 4 minutes This is column number 200 and that is a reason to celebrate. To kick off the party, let’s put a twist in some old sayings and look at the importance of our story. If you farmed today… You have heard it before — ‘If you ate today, thank a farmer’ — and that pretty much […] Read more
Travel exposes you to foods you never imagined existed
World cuisine is incredibly varied, and sometimes it takes an iron stomach to avoid offending your hosts
Reading Time: 4 minutes The inflight magazine in front of me was titled “The Taste of Travel.” I started to laugh because not all experiences when travelling leave a good taste in your mouth. There were some that were particularly challenging and good manners dictate that one never offends the host by passing on a dish. The setting was […] Read more
She is not lost – she is beginning
It was never meant to be this way, but now there is a need to reflect on the past, make peace with the present, and look towards the future
Reading Time: 3 minutes She sits at the old kitchen table — a cold cup of coffee in her hands. The room glows with soft morning light on the papered walls of the home she has come to love. Her heart aches for it seems impossible that she should lose or leave this sanctuary — this place she has […] Read more
There’s more to the canola dockage issue than meets the eye
Agreeing to China’s proposal would have put Canadian farmers and our canola industry at a competitive disadvantage
Reading Time: 2 minutes There’s a lot at stake in the ongoing discussions with China to achieve stable canola trade. Important details are being missed in the headlines that growers and the agriculture industry deserve to understand. Many will remember the fall of 2009 when the Chinese government curtailed Canada’s growing canola trade because of concerns about blackleg. Through […] Read more
These are interesting times in the cattle and beef markets
There are a number of factors in play right now, and it’s a good time to step back and survey the wider landscape
Reading Time: 4 minutes Packers lifted a lot of cattle in late summer and it will be interesting to see as we move through the fall if those fed cattle slaughtered in late summer left a gap wide enough to pull other finished cattle ahead. This would bring lighter fed cattle to the kill floor which could be positive […] Read more
Canadian biofuels aren’t a ‘blunder,’ they’re a success story
Well-designed renewable fuel policies can be good for the environment, the economy, and agricultural producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes In an opinion piece published in the previous edition of this paper (Biofuels are one of our greatest environmental blunders), Gwyn Morgan questions the benefits of biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Mr. Morgan would have it that biofuels are a “blunder.” In our opinion, biofuels are a home run for the environment and the rural economy. […] Read more
Why I keep a pair of little yellow wellies on my desk
The small rubber boots are the symbol of a U.K. safety campaign and a reminder we need to do more to keep our children safe on the farm
Reading Time: 4 minutes There is a pair of little yellow rubber boots — or wellies as they are called in other countries — sitting on my desk. They are a gift from fellow scholar James Chapman, who is studying and speaking out about farm safety around the world. James lost his arm in a farm accident. The idea […] Read more
Biofuels are one of our greatest environmental blunders
Proponents of biofuels are simply refusing to count their true environmental cost
Reading Time: 3 minutes Are biofuels really greener than the fossil fuels they displace? In a recent column I pointed out that electric cars are only as green as the fuel used to generate the electricity they consume. For internal-combustion-powered vehicles, much of the focus has been on trying to reduce carbon emissions by adding ethanol to gasoline and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
