Reading Time: 2 minutes Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) has incorporated a values statement calling for “diversity, equity, and inclusion” into its education and advocacy strategy. Why it matters: Diversity policies to better accommodate and understand social groups are becoming increasingly common in both the public and private sphere, although are less common in primary agriculture. According to BFO, […] Read more
News — page 2
Beef Farmers of Ontario adopts anti-discrimination value statement
The commodity organization announces efforts to ally with those promoting diversity
Bluewater Pipe-Soleno deal brings together family businesses
Bluewater Pipe to continue to operate as it has previously
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two of the original families of farm tile in Canada have come together in a deal that keeps the companies in independent ownership. Soleno, owned by the Poirier family and based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., has purchased majority ownership in Bluewater Pipe, based in Huron Park, Ont. Bluewater Pipe was founded by Tony Kime, and he […] Read more
Sweet potato research yields new Canadian option
Radiance variety provides short growing season with top yield production
Reading Time: 3 minutes The future is looking sweet for a Canadian variety of succulent orange-fleshed potato that’s a winter dinner table staple. Valerio Primomo, a Vineland Research Station scientist and vegetable breeder spoke about the development of Radiance, a variety of sweet potato with a short growing season during the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario’s 2020 virtual conference. […] Read more
Licence fees on veal now apply at sales barn
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sellers of veal through sales barns will now have to pay licence fees to Veal Farmers of Ontario. Veal Farmers of Ontario recently announced amendments to regulations that came into effect Jan. 1 that update the definitions of veal cattle and include the collection of licence fees on veal cattle sold in sales barns. VFO […] Read more
Standardizing the future of food traceability
Developing repeatable standards – and hopefully gaining a competitive advantage
Reading Time: 3 minutes As demands for more detailed traceability systems build, many are looking to blockchain technology — systems that securely record data about food at every stage in the value chain — as an ideal technological solution. Why it matters: Standardized blockchain frameworks could help speed the adoption of rigorous traceability systems, and potentially give Canadian producers […] Read more
Managing COVID, female leadership and the climate plan
Federal agriculture minister looks ahead to 2021 and back through a challenging 2020
Reading Time: 4 minutes Questions and answers have been edited for length. Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau recently talked to Glacier FarmMedia Ottawa reporter D.C. Fraser in a year-end interview. Looking back at the year, what was the biggest personal challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic for you? Trying to identify those who were the most in […] Read more
Rural vaccine rollout will need to be prioritized
Moderna could be the only vaccine option for parts of rural and Northern Ontario
Reading Time: 3 minutes Rural and northern areas of Ontario will likely not see a vaccine rollout until the early part of 2021, and then the limited numbers will mean prioritization. The Moderna vaccine, which doesn’t require the same stringent ultra-cold storage protocols as its Pfizer-BioNTech counterpart, is ideal for distribution in rural, northern and remote areas. The question […] Read more
Soil’s processes need to be understood to build organic matter
Increasing soil health is a highly complex process tied to chemical and biological cycles
Reading Time: 4 minutes To understand the paradigm shift in the production of soil organic matter you’re going to have to dig a little deeper. “Soil organic matter (SOM) is intimately linked to soil health, to ecosystem health, to planetary health and it has influences on the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil,” Sarah Hargreaves, Ecological Farmers […] Read more
Chatham-Kent Farm Show rescheduled for 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Chatham-Kent Farm Show has been cancelled for 2021, like many other farm events. The show, which runs each year at the John D. Bradley Centre in Chatham will run again Jan. 26 and 27, 2022. OP Show Productions has taken over management of the show and the company says it was looking forward to […] Read more
Local governments hit greenhouse light pollution
Growing clusters of greenhouses light up the night sky, creating problems with neighbours
Reading Time: 5 minutes Updated Jan. 18, 2021 Municipalities in the major greenhouse-growing area of the province are clamping down on increasingly bright greenhouse lighting making night into day in the rural areas where they operate. The municipality of Leamington recently enacted a bylaw to stem and roll back light pollution emitted from the region’s sizeable and diverse greenhouse […] Read more
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