For 32 years, Rob Hall worked in agricultural banking in Ontario – sometimes at the very top of the food chain, and always on the management side of the desk. Now, he’s switched sides. He’s on the farmer’s side. And he’s eager to talk in plain language. In February, Hall launched BankSpeak, a business finance... Read More
Category: Features
Producers can take heart in the approaches underway by provincial authorities to get a handle on two rabies outbreaks in southern Ontario. The outbreaks, involving terrestrial rabies (not bat rabies) have officials turning to proven control methods — and social media, through the Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) — to keep the disease in check.... Read More
Food, agriculture, politics, business, popular culture, current issues, and even sports. You’ll find it all on Real Agriculture’s new Get Real, Get Reading podcast. Every month we’ll chat with authors of popular (and not so popular) titles. But before co-hosts Bernard Tobin and Shaun Haney sit down with the author, we want the Real Agriculture... Read More
Safety is one of the key selling points that agriculture uses to promote food produced on Canadian farms. It's often mentioned in the same breath as freshness, wholesomeness and nutrition, mirroring what consumers say they value (besides local). Farmers take many on-farm measures to keep food safe — using sound environmental practices, and federally approved... Read More
The inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference is underway in Calgary, Alberta this week, and this morning, RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney and Gateway Livestock's Anne Wasko took the opportunity to film a Beef Market Update in-person, in our studio on the trade-show floor. The duo started off talking about some of the good news in the industry,... Read More
Has anything received more talk and less action than Canada’s chronic farm labour shortage? The nagging disconnect between unemployed Canadians and job openings in agriculture hit me this week when Statistics Canada announced that the country had lost more than 31,200 jobs in July. The figure was a surprise to everyone. Economists had predicted a... Read More
When your back’s against the wall, and talking and reasoning isn’t working, sometimes a 1-2 punch seems like the only forward. For example, in recent times, some Ontario farm groups — grain farmers, in particular — have used what appeared to be a pretty tough approach in dealing with pressure over neonicotinoid pesticides. People in... Read More
In one of those rare, happy coincidences, Ontario has made booze available online and said it will increase broadband access in rural areas...on the same day. That day was Tuesday, and the news came in separate announcements less than one hour apart. Both announcements should be good news for rural Ontario, and not just for... Read More
The chips are down for milk producers in Europe, who are struggling to hang on as the continent deals with another milk glut. The European Union dropped its quota on milk production last year. When that happened, dairy producers upped their production. Now, Europe is swimming in the stuff. Farmers say they’re getting about 10... Read More
With fat cattle prices in Alberta $40 lower than they were a year ago, the view from where the cattle feeders will be sitting come this fall's sale season will look different than it did in 2015. "Estimated losses in July for cattle finishing in Alberta on a spot-to-spot basis are about $350 to the... Read More