[UPDATED: Feb. 14, 2023] Canada needs a new agriculture and food strategy as political, pandemic and economic shocks to the global food system render current methods unviable. That was the message at a Jan. 31 conference in Ottawa hosted by leading agriculture policy think tanks and attended by agriculture leaders in government, industry and farm organizations. The new world,
In an era of high demand, Canada could be a food giant — if it has the will
In an era of high demand, Canada could be a food giant — if it has the will
Guest Editorial: Tiny tech now dominant in agriculture
A giant hole was punched through the berm around the dam on the Maitland River in the small southern Ontario community of Gorrie during a flood a few years ago. I grew up on my family’s farm near Gorrie and it’s strange to see the whole dam now gone as the decision was made to
(Guest) Editorial: Choices in autonomy grow
John Deere’s recent announcement that it will be selling autonomous 8R tractors for tillage this year elicited a not-surprising reaction from farmers. It was a mixed response, as is often the case for new technology, especially technology that might significantly change something they’ve been doing and, in many cases, liked doing, for generations. This isn’t
Guest Editorial: The thorny issue of people on your land
There are more people roaming around rural Canada during the pandemic and that’s increased concerns about trespassing and trash that finds its way onto farms. We live on a corner property and one of the side roads that runs along our farm is a no-winter maintenance road. Early in the pandemic it became a magnet
Guest Editorial: Carbon questions loom
The march to some sort of agricultural carbon economy is on and it’s integral that we get it right if we go down this road. Policy can’t be driven by politics and ideology. Unfortunately, the science of carbon sequestration continues to be fuzzy, which leaves open the opportunity for opinion to guide the policy. There
Comment: The pandemic has shown governments can make decisions quickly
Too often, bureaucratic entropy takes over and that makes us less competitive in the global marketplace
One of the lessons of the pandemic and response to it by governments and regulatory agencies is that regulatory agility is possible. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved with record speed, and from what I can find, the government says that the same vigour of process has also been applied. The only point missing is long-term studies
Disease can reach hog herds through feed
Research says disease travels on feed.The hog sector is working to limit the risks
North America’s livestock feed system continues to change to manage the risk of disease travelling on feed. The changes have meant world-leading restrictions on feed imports to Canada and a decline in imports of soybean meal into the U.S. from areas of major swine diseases. It’s also meant that some large farms are adopting supplier-to-farm
Data hackers coming to a farm near you
Recent attacks on computer systems show that agriculture isn’t immune to hackers
Agriculture pays little attention to computer system security, but it will be an increasing threat as farms gets larger, technology use increases and global actors look to disrupt food systems. That means that agriculture is well behind other important sectors of the economy in protecting its computer networks, says a cybersecurity researcher. It’s a reality
Going paperless: Pandemic makes digital a new reality
The COVID-19 pandemic response is driving farms and companies to paperless transactions
The COVID-19 crisis is forcing changes to how business is done in Canadian agriculture, driving a long-delayed move to digital business transactions. Deliveries from or visits to a supplier often doubled as social interactions in farm country, but that face-to-face culture is being supplanted by digital bits. Why it matters: Paper transactions and payments move
The wired farm
Will 5G networks kick off a wave of innovation for Canada’s farms?
Users of the Samsung Galaxy S20 phone will be the first to have access to 5G technology in Canada. Rural residents and farmers will have to wait much longer – if the technology ever arrives. Rogers announced in early March that it is rolling out 5G networks in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Montreal, with 20