The effects of COVID-19 on agriculture were surprising, and some sectors of the industry were affected more than others — grain and oilseed operations fared much better than say, intensive horticulture crops, in terms of labour. For this RealAg LIVE! host Kara Oosterhuis is joined by Debra Hauer of the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council... Read More
Category: Farm Management
The Ontario government is providing $10 million to allow more farmers and agri-food operators to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE), enhance cleaning and disinfection measures, and redesign workstations to better protect workers. Under the new Enhanced Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program (EAWPP), farms and agri-food businesses that hire three or more employees will be eligible for... Read More
Farming with family can be rewarding, and also stressful. Transitioning a farm's ownership from one generation to the next can be emotionally-charged and high stress, but would it be easier or any different if you were selling the business to a non-family member? Dick Wittman of Wittman Consulting says that many farmers may feel as... Read More
Rural and urban communities have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic differently. From gaps in healthcare, to transport challenges and through to isolation, the pandemic has brought to light some significant differences between city and rural dwellers. Dr. Gabe Woollam, a family physician based at Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, and president of the Society... Read More
The meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ag leaders ended without a full agreement on what Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau proposed back in November, 2020. At that time, Bibeau offered to remove the reference margin limit and increase the coverage level from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The cost structure of... Read More
Canadians' reliance on technology and systems for essential services, including in the agriculture sector, require constant innovation and vigilance in cyber security. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair has announced $500,000 over four years to the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance for their Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project. The funding is... Read More
It's that time of the year. Animals are having their young. Frost is leaving the soil. Spring has officially "sprung." This is such an exciting season. Personally, it's one of my favourites. Spring feels like New Year's Day to me, as it feels like a fresh start again. Time to start the garden. Time to... Read More
Farmers in Ontario's vegetable- and fruit-rich Simcoe area took to the streets on Tuesday, in a show of solidarity and protest of the health region's Section 22 order. Organized by local asparagus farmer Frank Schonberger, the protest was to bring awareness to the plight of farmers in the area who are struggling to meet the... Read More
For anyone who knows Shaun Haney, they know he's someone who is constantly thinking and evaluating what is going on around him. What has he been thinking about this week? On this RealAg LIVE! we've got a special "Freestyle Friday" where Shaun has an interactive chat with the audience, mixed with clips on his topic... Read More
It's unsurprising that animal rights extremist groups are challenging Ontario's Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, passed in 2020. The challenge, levelled by Animal Justice, alleges that the regulation violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of freedom of expression. The province says its bill was crafted "in a manner to... Read More