Reading Time: 3 minutes As marketers, we’re always on the lookout for trends and how we can latch on to the waves to build momentum for messages. One of the waves gaining momentum is ‘food skills.’ In a broad context, food skills is just about what it takes to get a meal on the table. This includes: Knowing what […] Read more
Getting beef back on the table
Health advocates want to get people back in their kitchens, and out of fast-food joints, and that’s an opportunity for the meat sector
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
Exciting times for Canadian farmers
Straight From the Hip: Rising farmland values reflect the solid fundamentals that are driving agriculture forward in this country
Reading Time: 3 minutes There is a lot of excitement in Canadian agriculture today. From the tremendous increase in farmland values to food processing — Canada is a country that has it all! In all my travel, I have never met a person who did not want to live, farm, visit or be educated in Canada. The ultimate destination, […] Read more
Why go on trade missions?
Consistency and high food safety standards have given Canada a ‘quality advantage’ in countries like China
Reading Time: 3 minutes I recently returned from a trade mission to China led by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who was accompanied by other federal and provincial government officials, and representatives from barley, beef, pork, blueberries, flax and other sectors. Trade missions like this one to China are not unique, and follow closely to recent trade missions to Korea […] Read more
Looking below the surface for sustainable agriculture
Increasing world food production means having healthy soil able to effectively deliver water and nutrients
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some of the world’s top soil scientists and conservation agriculture exponents convened for the sixth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg last month. The message from speakers was on one hand sobering, if not frightening — massive soil erosion continues around the world, and in both developed and undeveloped countries. The good news is […] Read more
Canada needs to invest to keep forage sector vigorous
Reading Time: 3 minutes Irricana rancher Doug Wray is the president of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. In mid-May, he spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He began by noting Canada’s 13 million cultivated hectares of forages (the country’s largest cultivated crop) and 15 million hectares of native pastures and rangeland generate […] Read more
China has deep problems, but offers opportunity for our food sector
Straight from the hip: The Asian titan is deeply in debt and its economy under stress, but it needs high-quality and safe food
Reading Time: 3 minutes China has always been regarded in the West as a superpower. But despite its recovery from the 2008 financial crisis and the perceived recent growth, China is estimated to be $23.3 trillion in debt — which is up $15 trillion in the past five years. The world’s largest user of steel (46 per cent) and […] Read more
Why you should care about the UN’s International Year of the Pulse
Take a look at what it did for quinoa, and you’ll realize this event will benefit your pocketbook, soil, and maybe your health
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some of you read this article title and decided to read one sentence before moving on. Some of you have already moved on. Like many of you, I haven’t had a lot of respect for many of the things the UN thinks, endorses, or gets involved in. So why am I, a self-proclaimed redneck Alberta […] Read more
Expert lays out five steps for feeding nine billion
Expert says farmers need to get more out of the resources they have, and waste of all sorts needs to be slashed
Reading Time: 3 minutes The challenge of feeding an expected world population of more than nine billion in 2050 — at least two billion more than today — has attracted considerable attention, resulting in a wide range of responses. A year and a half ago, the expectation was that the world’s agricultural production would have to increase by 70 […] Read more
Cattle prices are strong, but margins remain very tight
Straight from the hip: Reducing feed costs, minimizing shrink, and smart marketing are key ingredients to profitability
Reading Time: 3 minutes There is a lot of frothing at the mouth with cattle prices the way they are. Even the banker’s handshake is warming up with these returns. But a lot of young folks are asking the hard question as they enter into agriculture and farming: Will cows pay? I am a little hard on the bottom […] Read more
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