There are those who would rather not put extra funding towards varietal research, but to Steve Tomtene, a Saskatchewan-based farmer, the return on research and development is entirely worth the investment. "Our farm started back in the late sixties," Tomtene explains in an interview with Shaun Haney, "and I think when we look back over... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The newly-minted provincial agriculture minister for Ontario, Jeff Leal, has not changed policy or regulation on neonicotinoid seed treatments. Let's get that out of the way right now. Will the government soon step in, requiring more paper work, perhaps a licensing systems and more monitoring or rules around the use of neonics on corn and... Read More
Who’d have thought drivers on public roads would ever be warned to beware of faster farm vehicles? Not me. Traditionally, people have moaned about getting stuck behind slow-moving farm gear, prompting the ag sector to plead for patience and try explaining it’s just doing its job, getting from one farm, or from one part of... Read More
Mycotoxins can have devastating results when consumed, and in the livestock industry, poisoning seems to be on the rise, with perhaps the riskiest feedstuffs containing screenings. And it's no wonder, when manageable levels of alkaloids are not completely understood, a visual inspection can't quantify toxicity, and policies governing the sale of mycotoxin-contaminated screenings have a... Read More
It's hard to find a political pundit who called the outcome of Thursday's provincial election. Could anyone have predicted Kathleen Wynne's Liberals to win a strong majority government with 59 seats? All the pollsters were predicting a horse race, but it quickly turned into a romp as the Liberals broke to the lead and ran... Read More
The debate about Canada finally adopting UPOV 91 has transpired all winter. For some in the seed industry the inclusion of UPOV 91 being included in the Canadian Federal Government's Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18) has been a long time coming. The NFU has been strongly trying to convince farmers and the general public that... Read More
The Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission (SBDC) recently announced it has hired Jill McDonald as the new executive director. McDonald has extensive and diverse experience in agriculture, having worked with the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and having operated a private consulting... Read More
The agriculture and food industry lives and breathes in rural Ontario. While farmers have their eyes sharply focused on the needs of their business, they're also concerned about the Ontario government's vision for small town economies and the services farmers and rural people require. In this Ontario Election 2014 podcast, RealAgriculture.com's Bernard Tobin speaks with... Read More
Another day, another petition pushing for a ban of biotechnology in a region. The latest that crossed my desk is one out of Prince Edward Island, seeking support to convert the entire island-province to organic production, banning GMOs and non-organic-approved pesticides. There's choosing not to consume GMOs (genetically modified organisms) or support conventional agriculture —... Read More
The Ontario economy no longer drives on four wheels. That's the message Steve Peters, executive director of the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors (AOFP) has for a new Ontario government that will be elected on June 12. In this Ontario Election 2014 podcast, Peters and RealAgriculture.com's Bernard Tobin discuss the state of the Ontario food... Read More