Why Gardeners Are Thankful

National Garden Bureau ” We re thankful for the flower and vegetable companies who continue to bring us new and improved varieties of flowers and vegetables every year. ” We re thankful for the cataloguers and mail-order companies that send us their beautiful tomes of tempting goodies every January, just when the winter doldrums start



U.S. Must Lead Fight Against Hunger — Bill Gates

Billionaire Bill Gates knows how to end the poverty and hunger that afflicts nearly one billion people worldwide – help them grow more food. At a food security conference May 24, Gates called for U.S. leadership in a global campaign to expand food production. Agriculture ministers of the Group of 20 major developing and emerging

Farmers Face Water Shortage As Climate Changes

Farmers, governments and regulators should take preventive action to improve water management, because climate change will tighten water supplies for agriculture, the United Nations’ food agency said. Climate change will be bringing higher temperatures and more frequent droughts, reducing water availability especially in water-scarce regions, while melting glaciers will eventually cut water supplies in major


Global Grain Reserve Idea Gaining Momentum – for May. 5, 2011

During the decade from 1996 to 2006, the world became accustomed to stable crop production levels. Production problems in one part of the world were balanced out by increased production elsewhere. In such a world it was easy to argue that reserves were unnecessary, because there would always be someone with a supply they were

Canada Needs Food Policy

More than 3,500 Canadians have tabled a document calling for a national food policy that emphasizes domestic food systems, more farmers, and initiatives such as school lunch programs. CalledResetting the Table: A People’s Food Policy for Canada, the document is the first national food policy proposal to emerge from this country’s growing food movement. The


Business Risk Management

The importance of planning to be safe on the farm can ever be overemphasized in agriculture. Rural culture is such that for far too long farm families have lived a risky lifestyle, accepting and even celebrating obsessive work habits in the name of staying one step ahead of the weather, saving money or earning more.

Libya Turmoil Could Hurt Regional Food Security — UN

The United Nations expressed serious concern March 11 about the impact of the Libyan uprising on food security across North Africa because of the region’s dependency on cereal imports. “The ongoing crisis will likely have a significant impact on food security in Libya and in nearby crisis-affected areas,” the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said


More Southwestern Manitobans Are Gardening

Brandonites itching to grow some of their own food this summer are waiting to hear if there’ll be room in one of the Wheat City’s thriving gardens. March is the month when the hundreds of small plots, found in gardens throughout the city are assigned on a first-come-firstserved basis. Some may get turned away. There

Outlook Improving, But Problems Remain, Politicos Tell CFA

The next few years appear positive for farmers with both crop and livestock prices on the rise, says Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Farmers have rebounded from the BSE crisis in the beef industry, influenza outbreaks in the poultry sector, widespread bankruptcies among pork farmers and depressed grain prices, he told the annual meeting of the