Giorgos Zeikos, apple farmer and president of the Agia apple producers’ cooperative checks the fruits at an apple orchard in the village of Agia, in Thessaly, Greece, June 12, 2025. Photo: Reuters/Alexandros Avramidis

Europe’s illegal pesticide trade surges as farmers cut costs

At least 14 per cent of pesticides used on EU fields today are illegal

As the cost of spraying crops with pesticides becomes increasingly expensive, farmers in Greece's agricultural heartland have turned to a cheaper alternative: liquids in unlabeled plastic bottles smuggled over land and sea.

Photo: Photo: iStock/Getty Images Plus

Ontario ag-gag appeal concludes, court ruling pending

Animal advocates argue law violates free expression; province defends focus on trespass, not speech

Animal rights advocates challenge the constitutionality of Ontario’s Security from Trespass Act, arguing it stifles undercover exposés and infringes on Charter freedoms; government defends the law as targeting trespass, not speech.


A farmer holding grains in his hands.

Small actions dig deep roots for mental health management

What you do day-to-day matters more than you may realize to those around you, especially if they’re struggling with mental health

Mental health is a big conversation among farmers. Columnist Brenda Schoepp reminds readers that what they do matters, who they are matters and it is important to remember that to manage their mental health.

According to Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting, agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the country.

Farm safety requires grassroots, cultural shift

Farm safety means deliberately changing how we as members of the agricultural community think and behave, even when it’s inconvenient

Better safety on Canadian farms means deliberately choosing the safer way of doing this, even when it flies in the face of what we’ve always done.



Firefighters near Lac Du Bonnet scrambled to put out a fast-moving wildfire that sparked May 13 at the same time as large wildfires were burning in several other areas of the province, including near The Pas.

Northern Manitoba fire claims livestock

Farmers in northern Manitoba have been working their fields, but for those watching wildfire near The Pas creep closer, it’s been about fire breaks more than seeding; the fire has reportedly claimed livestock as well

A Manitoba farm near The Pas has lost seven goats to wildfires, according to a local emergency services worker. Farmers near the fire zone have been working their fields, but it’s been about fire breaks more than seeding.

Fire escapes a burn barrel intended to contain the flames.

Prevent farm fires this spring

Keep it clean around buildings, have a fire plan, watch your burn barrel and other farm fire prevention tips

Don’t get burned this spring: Keep it clean around buildings, have a fire plan, watch your burn barrel and other farm fire prevention tips.

According to a 2023 review from Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting, from 1990 to 2020 there were 2,814 agriculture-related fatalities in Canada, an average of 91 deaths each year. Between 2006 and 2020 the average number of fatalities drops to ‘just’ 70 per year.

Putting safety first on the farm

Agriculture-related fatalities on the decline, but even one is still too many

It’s once again Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, an opportunity to remind oneself that farming might be a rewarding vocation, but it’s also a dangerous business. From 2006 to 2020, there were an average of 70 agriculture-related fatalities each year in Canada.