Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent report from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth highlighted agriculture and food processing as keys to economic growth in Canada. The advisory council called on Ottawa to create a growth strategy for what it calls “agfood,” which it defines as everything from “field to fork.” Its report says that could generate another US$30 […] Read more
Will agriculture and food processing finally take centre stage?
A new report says these two sectors are key to Canada’s future prosperity — and that recognition is a welcome development
We need to count our blessings — and take advantage of them
Our vast land base is a great advantage but often leaves us stuck in the commodity mindset
Reading Time: 3 minutes Summer is a great time for me because of the many international guests I am privileged to host. I was having a lovely lunch with a family from New Zealand when one of them asked, “What are the top two issues facing Canadian agriculture today?” It is not the first time I have been asked […] Read more
The other side of the temporary foreign worker story
Sunterra Meats has helped dozens of ‘temporary’ employees become permanent residents — and they’re revitalizing the town of Trochu
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa’s decision to grandfather the number of temporary foreign workers is being welcomed by food-processing companies. “It’s good news to the extent that we won’t have to send anybody back,” said Ray Price, president of Sunterra Meats, which runs farms, markets, and a small meat-processing plant in Alberta. Federal Employment Minister Mary Ann Mihychuk announced […] Read moreThere is opportunity all around us and it’s there all the time
All sectors in agriculture have tremendous strengths and every farm operation can capitalize on them in some way
Reading Time: 3 minutes I am a business mentor for a young woman who just landed a multimillion-dollar deal. She and her family took a risk, went without for a few years, and worked hard to get their product going. They had folks who believed in them but more importantly, they believed in themselves. She once said to me […] Read more
Wal-Mart jumps into milk processing
Reuters — Wal-Mart said it will build a dairy processing plant in Indiana to supply private-label milk to about 600 stores, curtailing business with some suppliers in the retailer’s sole foray into food processing in the U.S. The move — announced by Wal-Mart last Friday but not widely reported by media until Tuesday — helped […] Read more
Meat packers desperate for workers despite jump in jobless rate
Farm Vote: There are 1,000 job vacancies at slaughter plants, but Canadians shun them
Reading Time: 2 minutes Despite job losses in other sectors, Canada’s pork industry is still struggling to build a sustainable workforce. “For us in Western Canada, it really comes down to availability of labour,” said Darcy Fitzgerald, executive director at Alberta Pork. “We need to have workers available for us, and often, they’re not Canadian, only because we don’t […] Read more
India is a country of two agricultures
The nation is a world player in food, but full of contrasts and contradictions
Reading Time: 4 minutes My visit to India a few years ago covered a lot of agricultural ground — a 1,500-kilometre loop starting in Ludhiana and ending in New Delhi. Our team — nine young agricultural professionals from five countries — experienced a transportation strike, a hit-and-run, watched a car slide off the road and into the jungle, and […] Read more
NOT WORKING: Alberta’s food processing industry needs a big fix
If the province wants a vibrant food industry, it will ‘have to do things differently,’ says expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s food-processing industry faces a grim future without a “disruptive intervention,” says an agri-food industry veteran. “Current approaches toward innovation and growth — particularly in the food industry here in Alberta — are not working,” said Jerry Bouma of Toma & Bouma Management Consultants. “If we seek success and want to grow this industry, we’re […] Read more
U.S. bird flu causes egg shortage, emergency measures
Chicago/New York | Reuters — As a virulent avian influenza outbreak continues to spread across the Midwestern U.S., some egg-dependent companies are contemplating drastic steps — importing eggs from overseas or looking to egg alternatives. A spokeswoman for Archer Daniels Midland said that as egg supplies tighten and prices rise, the food processing and commodities […] Read more
Don’t just grow crops, grow food processing
A stronger ag-sector would be the result, says AWC general manager
Reading Time: < 1 minute Think big picture, says the general manager of the Alberta Wheat Commission. “We’ve seen the ministry roll out a rural development strategy, and we support that,” said Tom Steve. “But if you look at who the wealth creators are in rural communities, it tends to be the farmer… we need to find a way to […] Read more
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