Should GM be labelled? Is organic healthier? Does glyphosate cause cancer? Do you put your kids at risk if you feed them meat or is the caveman diet the way to go? Your good friend and neighbour thinks Gwyneth Paltrow is right about all this stuff, is she correct? All of these questions, and a
Comment: Are you at risk?
Risk assessment, not blind fear of hazards, lets us all live our lives
Opinion: The disgrace of food shaming
A few days ago a friend told me snacks had been banned from their six-year-old’s soccer games. The team was forced to, because some parents had taken to social media to shame other families, because their snacks did not measure up to the shamers’ idea of social acceptability. Food shaming impacts almost all consumers. What
Keep an eye on the customer while on the combine
Incredibly low tolerance levels and better testing make pesticide label adherence more important than ever
Warren Buffet, once quipped, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” This is something worth thinking about as we start to prepare for harvest. Canada has a strong reputation for consistently delivering safe, high-quality grain to our customers both
Social licence – where do I buy one?
More consumers are becoming concerned about the origins of their stuff
I saw a cartoon recently that showed an oil company executive at the Department of Motor Vehicles asking if this was the place to buy a social licence. If only it actually worked that way. What is “social licence” anyways? Generally speaking, it is the acceptance by society of a particular industry or industry practice.
Getting our research priorities right
Investment in research is critical to the future of the industry
Saskatoon recently saw a meeting of some of the most important minds in Canadian wheat research. The workshop included public and private researchers from across Canada, farmers from coast to coast, and Canadian exporters. The goal was to move forward on the development of key priorities for Canadian wheat research. Why is this important? Federal
What does ‘science based’ mean?
Industry and government must adjust to new findings, but policies should not be based on the latest Internet trend
What does “science based” mean? For both government policy and industry best practice, science based should mean that practices are based on rigorous scientific studies. Policies and regulations that veer off the science-based path put at risk the tools that make modern agriculture possible. So do production practices that do not rigorously follow scientifically developed
Don’t throw money at public research
We need a combination of private, public and producer investment in order to remain competitive
One of the oldest clichés in agriculture might be that “research and innovation are the keys to our future.” But just because it is a cliché does not mean it is not true. The federal election is over and Canada has a new government. Members of the new parliament will soon be headed to Ottawa
What do customers of Canadian wheat want? (and why it matters to you)
Canada must compete with more than price in international markets
What do customers want when they buy Canadian wheat? Cereals Canada and the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) recently commissioned an internationally renowned market research firm, LMC International, to answer this question. Why should you care about the answer? Because it will impact your future bottom line. And because your checkoff dollars may be going
Elections and the value of showing up
If farmers don’t speak, it will be others, who may not understand our industry, who decide who goes to Ottawa
There is an old saying in politics, “policy is set by those who show up.” Not always those with the best and brightest ideas and not even always a majority. The first and most important step on the road to being an influencer is to show up. Canadians will elect a new House of Commons
Sustainability is not a four-letter word
Urban consumers don’t appreciate the economic powerhouse agriculture has become
A national pollster once told me that “Canadians really like farmers, but they don’t always like what farmers do.” He followed that up by noting that the second half of the statement was the more important part, and that it is the agriculture industry’s responsibility to address the misinformation circulating about modern-day farming. Misinformation, unfortunately,
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
