Food bills will rise in 2018

Food bills will rise in 2018

Weather conditions and a switch to convenience foods will drive the trend

The average Canadian family of four will be paying $348 more to feed themselves in 2018, with total expenditures pegged to rise to $11,948. That’s according to the eighth annual Canada’s Food Price Report jointly released Dec. 13 by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph. “Canadians want to know what will impact the prices

Brady Deaton, a University of Guelph agricultural economist and McCain Family Chair in Food Security, was the University of Manitoba’s 2017 Kraft Lecturer.
His lecture underscored the importance of communities, such as First Nations, progressing when they have authority to manage themselves instead of being constrained by rules such as the Indian Act. This was the 9th annual Kraft Lecture created in memoriam of renowned University of Manitoba agricultural economist DarylKraft.

Local control key to better resource management

Brady Deaton, the University of Manitoba’s 9th annual Kraft Lecturer, says the Indian Act prevents First Nations from taking action to improve their citizens’ well-being

Justin Trudeau has promised to end boil-water advisories on First Nations, but some could fix the problem themselves by working with neighbours if First Nations controlled their land, says University of Guelph agricultural economist and McCain Family Chair in Food Security, Brady Deaton. “With respect to land, I am arguing the Indian Act basically removes



Ramping up phosphorus for alfalfa

Ramping up phosphorus for alfalfa

Building soil phosphorus when fertilizer prices are lower may have big impacts for future profit, 
tour attendees heard Aug. 30 at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives Brookdale site

Producers got a side-by-side comparison of different phosphorus treatments in alfalfa Aug. 30. The phosphorus ramp, presented during the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) Brookdale field tour, showcased consecutive strips of alfalfa grown with progressively more phosphorus. The ramp tracks crop impact in the three years following a one-time phosphorus application ranging from no


New report describes ‘three-tiered’ food system operating in Canada

New report describes ‘three-tiered’ food system operating in Canada

A University of Guelph researcher takes a close look at Canada’s evolving alternative food market

Kelly Hodgins was selling garden produce at a B.C. farmers’ market in 2013 when she began noticing something was different about her customers. There were new faces arriving at the market. The province had introduced a new program making coupons available to lower-income families to shop B.C.’s well-established farmers’ markets. “It was kind of an

This barn will remain, but most of the rest of the facilities will be demolished at the University of Guelph’s Elora Beef Research Station to make way for new beef research buildings. (John Greig photo)

Guelph gets new beef research facility

The federal and provincial governments and the Beef Farmers of Ontario have all announced funding for buildings and programs at the University of Guelph’s renewed beef research station this week. The funds announced are to help create a completely new cow-calf and heifer research facility next to the current beef research station, and a new


Groups across Canada’s agriculture and food sectors feel the time is right for a national food policy.

Farm and food talks bring new voices to the policy table

The national food policy development process will pull many out of their comfort zone

The meeting the Canadian Federation of Agriculture hosted in Ottawa June 5 wasn’t the usual assembly of farmers. Participants included a broad spectrum of stakeholders with an interest in food, including Food Secure Canada, the Nutrition Resource Centre of the Ontario Public Health Association, the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security and the

Still a lot to learn about hog nutrition

Still a lot to learn about hog nutrition

Ideas for small but significant changes may be difficult to incorporate into large-scale operations

As the hog industry becomes more integrated, small changes in nutrition can have significant financial impacts across large systems. That means that swine nutritionists and academics are challenged to think about what level of proof is needed for changes to be implemented in the barn. That is one of the conundrums facing swine nutrition, says


Predators, such as (A) an Orius nymph, (B) Asian lady beetle, (C) aphid midge larva, and (D) parasitic wasps typically suppress early-season infestations of soybean aphid.

U.S. study questions neonics for soybean aphid control

The effectiveness of the insecticide has diminished by the time the plants 
are at the stage when the insects arrive

A multi-university study says that neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments have little effect on soybean aphid populations, as the pesticide has disappeared in plant tissue by the time the aphids arrive. The two-year study was a joint effort of Purdue University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, North Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, South