The pandemic might have slowed the economy in 2020, but it didn’t slow the growth in land values. In fact, the ongoing global viral calamity is, in its own way, another factor contributing to per-acre purchase costs. In his annual “Southwestern Ontario Land Values” report, Ryan Parker, partner with London area real estate appraiser Valco, […] Read more
News — page 339
Land prices continue upward trend
Low interest rates, good commodity prices, and non-farm buyers push land values higher across the province
Opinion: Keep an eye on Budget ‘21
The federal government’s next budget could have a significant impact on the future of Canadian agriculture. It’s worth paying attention to. Canadians didn’t get a 2020 budget: it was an early casualty of COVID-19, cancelled in the pandemic’s infancy. Instead we were offered economic updates and a series of spending announcements, almost entirely COVID-19 related. […] Read more
George returns as OFVGA chair
Grape grower Bill George Jr. has been elected to a third one-year term as chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA). Apple grower Charles Stevens was re-elected as Vice Chair. Both George and Stevens first assumed their respective roles in 2019 and were re-elected at the OFVGA annual general meeting held virtually […] Read more
Beef marketing program continues to see gains despite COVID
Ontario fed cattle seeing gains against U.S. and Alberta pricing
Leading through uncertainty aptly captured the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) Ontario Beef Market Development (OBMD) program’s inaugural year. Despite being cow-tied by a global pandemic, the program managed to make gains in the Japanese market, create a foothold in Vietnam and promote Ontario beef effectively in the domestic market. The program charged into 2020 […] Read more
Group calls for farm climate investment from federal government
A group of farmers is calling for the federal government to invest $300 million to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farms. Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) says such an investment could reduce agricultural emissions by 10 million tonnes. A FCS-led task force made up of farmers, agricultural economists, climate scientsts and policy experts came up […] Read more
Editorial: A tempest in a butter wrapper
I pondered whether to add more copy to the head-scratching and manufactured debate over palm fat in dairy nutrition and the subsequent effects on butter hardness, but I think the recent flurry of mainstream media coverage provides some lessons. To recap: Food sector pot stirrer Sylvain Charlebois of Dalhousie University is a master at bringing […] Read more
National Poultry Show moves virtual
Engage – a virtual National Poultry Show event, will take place April 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The attendees of this year’s virtual show will have access to two days of content on the following topics: Biosecurity: Dr. Algis Martinez, Cobbs Senior, director of […] Read more
Career opportunities are endless from farmers’ fields to our forks
Virtually every field of study and expertise could be of value to the agri-food sector
It is a unique but exciting time to explore career opportunities in the agri-food labour market. Although working in agriculture is often narrowly portrayed, in-demand careers include administration, communications, trades, finance, information technology, engineering and food science. Why it matters: The agricultural sector is not only the traditional labour force it once was. With new […] Read more
Organic seed synergies sustain diversity
Vegetable seed companies find growing demand during COVID
Producers and marketers of organic seed in North America set themselves apart from their conventional counterparts by sharing uniquely “synergistic” relationships, said speakers at a scaled-down, virtual version of the recent annual Guelph Organic Conference. “We’re all in this together,” said High Mowing Seeds commercial grower representative Aaron Varadi, during one of five in-depth sessions […] Read more
Satellites to change rural internet delivery
Low earth satellites help solve latency issues of earlier satellites
Elon Musk’s Starlink low Earth orbit (LEO) network has been awarded US$885 million over 10 years to build rural internet access in the United States. This amounts to an almost billion-dollar vote of confidence in a service that is at the preliminary consumer testing stage. Why it matters: Better quality internet will help drive more […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
