Scenic autumn view of the rural landscape, orchards, vineyards, and wineries of Oliver located in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Photo: laughingmango/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Local food system would reap big economic benefits researcher says

B.C. researchers found that the Okanagan could produce two thirds of its own food while maintaining exports

Assuming an average Canadian diet, the Okanagan can currently produce 88 per cent of its dairy needs, Mullinix and colleagues wrote in a report on the study. It can produce 60 per cent of its poultry needs, 34 per cent of its fruit needs (due to fruits eaten that can’t be grown in the region, or are eaten out of season), and small amounts of other food groups like grains, red meat, eggs and oils.

The meat section in a grocery store in Selkirk, Man., on Jan. 30, 2022.

The resiliency of ‘local’

North America’s meatpackers are not having a good time. As our reporter Don Norman wrote in last week’s front-page story, there’s been a torrent of bad news from some of the biggest names in the business. In early May, Reuters reported that U.S.-based Tyson Foods, the world’s second-largest producer of beef, pork and chicken, had


Attendees of the Discover the Farm event crushing canola to create oil.

Farm and Food Awareness week events raise profile of Manitoba agriculture sector

Discover the Farm beat attendance expectations and AITC-Manitoba officially launched its new virtual knowledge hub

Visitors to the unofficial kickoff party for Food and Farm Awareness Week were greeted with warm skies and above-seasonal temperatures Sept. 18. The Discover the Farm event at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre took place one day before the week’s official launch and it lived up to its name. “It was a phenomenal day,

Interest in local food grew after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, says the executive director of Direct Farm Manitoba.

Direct farm marketing makes gains in Manitoba

The pandemic shifted farmer and consumer habits, but may make data less representative of the norm, says Direct Farm Manitoba

The number of Manitoba farms that direct-market products grew by 12 per cent between 2016 and 2020, a new report indicates. The report, released this summer, used sources including the 2021 federal census of agriculture. It shows that in 2020, just over 1,000 farms were directly selling food to customers, up from 900 in 2016.


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Early-pandemic calls to localize supply chains unfounded

With a year's worth of data, three agriculture economists revisit early-pandemic predictions on the food supply chain

With a year's worth of data, three agriculture economists revisit early-pandemic predictions on the food supply chain

A year of data shows early-pandemic calls for radical changes to food systems and risk management programs were unfounded, say some economists. Particularly in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains struggled to adapt to changing consumption patterns and processors shut down due to virus outbreaks. “Into that void of uncertainty came

Michelle Schram, with her young son, on the farm she co-runs with husband Troy Stozek near Cartwright.

Women more likely to run non-conventional farms: report

EQUALITY | Access to land, social capital and difference in interests, skills may account for the trend

While women are less likely than men to farm in Manitoba, inequality appears to be lower for women in direct marketing or non-conventional farms, according to a recent report from the University of Manitoba. “There is a dynamic that women face that young men don’t face entering farming, but I also think that that’s changing


COVID-19 has pushed governments to consider food autonomy as a priority and support local supply chains. But buying local produce is easier said than done.

Comment: The local food paradox

Governments are interested in food autonomy but price remains very important

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting supply chains and impacting food purchasing habits, our relationship with food was different. Quite different. The pandemic has pushed governments to consider food autonomy as a priority and look more at local supply chains. Discussions are about producing food in Canada, all year round, while offering products to consumers

Mobile butcher Gerrit vande Bruinhorst works on a beef carcass.

Have gun will travel

Coronavirus at meat plants builds demand for mobile butchers

Reuters – Slaughtering cattle is a solitary, but personal business for Gerrit vande Bruinhorst, 55, the mobile butcher of Picture Butte, Alberta. On this day, vande Bruinhorst, a .303 rifle in hand, arrives early at a customer’s ranch. He wears boots, coveralls and a rubber apron to catch any blood. With one shot to the forehead, the 1,300-pound Black Angus steer


Michelle Shram and Troy Stozek have seen increased sales of their grass-fed beef and lamb.

An uptick in online sales may help Manitoba farmers

E-commerce shift could spell opportunity for local producers

On May long weekend, St. Norbert opened its outdoor market to the least fanfare in recent memory. Market co-ordinators had prepared to limit shoppers, but that proved not to be necessary. According to a Facebook post, they never reached capacity as crowd-leery folks stayed away. While the physical market continues to operate, more and more

Direct Farm Manitoba calls for changes to meat regulations

Direct Farm Manitoba calls for changes to meat regulations

Direct sales of meat have increased, but the capacity to ramp up production isn’t there, producers say

Direct Farm Manitoba is calling on the province to increase capacity for local meat sales in light of recent meat plant closures. Direct sales of meat like beef and roasting chickens have risen since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Manitoba, said Phil Veldhuis, Direct Farm Manitoba president, but producers have limited ability to capitalize on the