Reading Time: 5 minutes Chancey Lane, 23, of Claresholm was the senior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Calgary Stampede. This year’s topic was: Working in agriculture is more than just farming. And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a […] Read more
Agriculture has always been more than farming
Changing with the times: Honey producers successfully shift gears
Planning for Profits: When cheap Chinese imports sent honey prices crashing, Nixon Honey responded by diversifying its business
Reading Time: 3 minutes Working on your farm management skills is like exercising… it pays big benefits, but it’s easy to push it off for another day. Only one-third of producers use business advisors or risk management tools, and fewer still do HR, succession, or strategic planning. To help make your farm more profitable (and your life more enjoyable), […] Read more
Harvest weather outlook offers reasons to cheer
CNS Canada — Farmers on the Prairies can expect decent weather for this harvest season, according to Drew Lerner, meteorologist and founder of World Weather Inc. Most farmers will experience periodic showers, he said, but shouldn’t be subjected to the continual drizzles and sheets of rain that caused heartaches last year. “Most of the Prairies […] Read more
‘Public trust’ conference aims to find ways to win back consumers
The popularity of campaigns attacking conventional agriculture shows that the industry needs to do more, says organizer
Reading Time: 2 minutes Public trust is eroding in Canada, and farmers — along with others in the value chain — need to fight back, says the head of a new ag organization aimed at winning back confused consumers. “The whole industry needs to know a whole bunch more about consumers,” said Kim McConnell, an Okotoks-based marketing expert and […] Read more
New ag policy aims to sweeten the AgriStability pot
More farmers have been opting out of the farm-income support program after changes in 2013 reduced the potential payout
Reading Time: 4 minutes CAP is a rather fitting acronym for the recently announced Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the latest government ‘policy framework’ that governs its farm support programs. “That’s a very easy way for people to remember the two major changes that have come about here,” said Steve Funk, director of farm income programs at MNP. “They’ve capped the […] Read more
The world has an eating problem — and farming is the solution
Whether it’s obesity or malnutrition, Canadian farmers have an amazing opportunity to be agents of change
Reading Time: 3 minutes “As a farming community we should be the epitome of health.” That was the closing remark of one of the speakers at the Nuffield Triennial Farming Conference in southern England earlier this summer. The speaker had been talking about obesity and food-related health issues, and how farmers could be a solution to this serious problem. […] Read more
Canada suggests it could quit NAFTA talks over dispute mechanism
Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada laid down a tough line ahead of talks on modernizing NAFTA on Monday, suggesting it could walk away if the U.S. pushed to remove a key dispute-settlement mechanism in the trade deal. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, giving the most substantive outline yet of Canada’s goals, said she was “very optimistic” […] Read more
Deal on new ag funding framework
Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal and provincial ag ministers have agreed on the “key elements” of a five-year, $3-billion framework. The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is the successor to Growing Forward 2, which expires at the end of March. Read more: Ministers agree on new ag funding framework Business risk management is one of six focus areas, particularly AgriStability. […] Read more
Ahead of NAFTA talks, Canada says dispute mechanism essential
Ottawa | Reuters — An effective dispute settlement mechanism is essential in any trade agreement, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said on Friday, less than a week before the first round of negotiations on the North American trade pact. Canada’s desire to include a dispute settlement mechanism in a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) […] Read more
DuPont to buy up farm software firm Granular
A San Francisco company providing farm management software to growers in four provinces and about three dozen states is poised to join the digital arm of DuPont and Dow’s merged agribusiness. DuPont — which as of last week had all regulatory approvals and clearances lined up to complete its merger with Dow Chemical — announced […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
