| We’re almost a month into the new year and some of us have already lost sight of the lofty exercise and weight loss goals we set for ourselves on Jan.1. We all start the year with good intentions — overflowing parking lots at most gyms during the first few weeks of January will attest to that — but as the weeks wear on, many of us fall off the proverbial wagon and end up straying from those resolutions. Overall, most of us think we’re in pretty decent shape. The numbers say otherwise, though. Continue reading Let’s take those new year’s resolutions seriously  I’m in beautiful Banff today, giving a presentation to hog farmers and pork industry representatives on social media and how we can use it in agriculture.
It’s a bit of an event for me, for a number of reasons. First of all, I always like talking about social media and helping people gain an understanding of the different tools that are out there and what, with a little skill and practice, we can achieve by using them. Continue reading Banff, pork and social media  Farms are, for the most part, pretty large energy users. Barns housing livestock, the use of sophisticated feeding or milking technology or climate control and water recycling systems in greenhouses – all require energy to keep going. So it’s no surprise, with energy costs on the rise, that many farmers are looking for ways to reduce or off-set their energy use.
Terry Reesor is one such farmer. I met him last summer when I interviewed him for an article I was writing about solar energy. Here’s his story. Continue reading Reducing energy use on the farm  Most of us will agree that food – and the farming the brings us that food – are pretty essential to our quality of life. In fact, it’s one of the basic underpinnings of an orderly society. As we can see in other places around the globe not as fortunate as we are, hunger and high food prices lead to violence and protests.
We also know that our global population is rising – although the numbers vary slightly, most experts can agree that we’ll be in the range of nine billion inhabitants by the mid point of this century. All of those people will need food. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations last week raised concerns about a food crisis after reporting that its food price index had hit a historic high. According to their estimates, food production will have to increase 70 per cent by 2050 to keep up with demand. Continue reading Decision to cut food research makes no sense  The crystal ball says we live in the best place in the world. Personally, I’ve long been convinced of it, having lived in this area for most of my life, but this is the opinion of a bio-economy expert who spoke at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre recently.
His perspective was a bit different from mine, though. While my ideas of why this is a great place to live are shaped by family, friends and lifestyle, his were focused on societal fundamentals, such as oil, water and food. John P. Oliver says our conventional supplies of oil, food and water will be surpassed by global demand by 2050. Continue reading Healthy Ontario farms will help us as supplies decline A new survey shows that our love affair with food and farming in Canada is intensifying. Personally I’ve long been an advocate but now some new Ipsos Reid numbers are showing that I’m not alone – the Canadian public’s positive perceptions of agriculture are on the rise. More than half – 57 percent – of Canadians surveyed have a positive impression of agriculture in this country, a figure that has risen 16 per cent since the survey was first conducted four years ago. In 2006, only 41 per cent of Canadians had a positive impression of Canadian agriculture and 52 per cent reported a positive impression in 2009. Continue reading Canadian love affair with food and farming heating up  I’ve always had a special connection to Remembrance Day – ever since I was lucky enough to visit Vimy Ridge as part of a school trip when I was 16.
I have also been fortunate enough to participate in the national service in Ottawa one year when I was the Canada-wide winner of an essay writing contest sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion. But it was this past year that helped me reconnect most directly with Remembrance Day, Canada’s military history and the powerful stories of the men and women who have and continue to serve our country so valiantly. Continue reading In the fields of remembrance | |
