Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Fifty years ago, on a moonless night in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, I was trudging back to camp. As I crossed a railroad bridge, I heard the wail of a train whistle ricocheting through the canyons behind me. I couldn’t judge the distance between train and bridge, nor how far […] Read more
Opinion: Why ‘wait and see’ is not a realistic approach to climate change
It is more practical to act now based on what is already known, and adapt as we learn more
Opinion: For women in agriculture, opportunities abound
Mentorship program the latest enhancement for a sector that’s opened its doors to women
Reading Time: 3 minutes I can’t remember when I first heard the song “I am woman” by Helen Reddy, but it was in the basement of my parents’ house, where I would play my mom’s old 45s on a portable record player she’d had since her teens. I remember liking the singer’s voice but didn’t really understand the song. […] Read more
Opinion: It’s hard to be green while in the red
Farmers must make money before they can invest in sustainability and the carbon price isn’t helping
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – I’m not the one to come up with the line used in this article’s headline, but I wish I was. It is a succinct way of describing one of the most challenging policy aspects of sustainability. It is difficult, even impossible, to change farming practices aimed at improving environmental sustainability when experiencing […] Read more
Opinion: Will protests pay off?
Political movements provide an important outlet, allowing farmers to express the anger they feel
Reading Time: 4 minutes More than 500 tractors made their way to the motorways linking to Paris on Jan. 29, as walls of hay rose here and there in the capital’s arteries. French farmers vowed to blockade the Paris region until their demands are met, and kept up pressure ahead of a European summit on Feb. 1. On Jan. […] Read more
Opinion: The emerging consensus on food prices
Why all political parties agree that the grocer code of conduct is necessary
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee has embarked on a mission to address rising food prices, extending an invitation to both Loblaw and Walmart. In a letter from the committee, Ottawa urges both retailers to voluntarily comply with the proposed grocer’s code of conduct or risk facing legislative action. In other words, Canada is on the verge […] Read more
Opinion: Alberta Outrage Machine strikes back at Charlie Angus
His private member’s bill was meant to get an over-the-top reaction. And Alberta fell for it
Reading Time: 4 minutes Well played, Chuck. Well played. You put the landmine out there, with a big neon blinking “TREAD ON ME” marquee, and as you knew they would, a bunch of righteously indignant Albertans goose-stepped right toward your private member’s bill minefield. BLAM. BAM. KAPOWEE. They gave it to you good; just like in a vintage Batman […] Read more
Schoepp: Telling the farm story
The tourism sector can offer agriculture some lessons on connections
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was thrilled to attend a premier tourism conference in January and I certainly felt at home because tourism loves Canadian agriculture; so much so that the conference theme of regeneration was based on the agricultural model. Regenerative tourism digs deep into the concept of leaving a community better than before you visited – not […] Read more
Bill C-282 is an awful idea
Bill risks holding other economic sectors hostage to safeguard the interests of a small, privileged group of farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Bill C-282 sits in the Canadian Senate and stands on the precipice of becoming law in a matter of weeks. Essentially, this bill seeks to bestow immunity upon supply management from any potential future trade negotiations, without offering increased market access to potential trade partners. In simpler terms, it risks holding all other economic sectors […] Read more
How industry neglect fueled a US$2.2 billion verdict
The agriculture sector cannot afford to bobble the gene editing ball as it did with glyphosate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bayer AG’s Monsanto has been ordered to pay a staggering US$2.2 billion to a former Roundup user who linked his cancer to the herbicide. This significant sum is the largest verdict in the ongoing five-year litigation involving the weed killer. However, the legal battles are far from over. There are still more than 50,000 cases […] Read more
Schoepp: Ruminants in the COP28 crosshairs
There’s been little meaningful engagement with agriculture on this issue
Reading Time: 4 minutes The United Nations Climate Conference, COP28, recently held in Rome, was for the first time focused on agriculture. The outcome seems to be a set of seriously flawed directives for farmers. In the 28-year history of the Conference of the Parties, agriculture has always taken a backseat. The 2023 meetings brought food production forward, not […] Read more
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