| Water testing has long been part and parcel of buying and selling agricultural properties. But knowing exactly what’s in your soil and well water is becoming increasingly important to safeguard both human health and property values. E.coli O157:H7 is one pathogen that can have serious human health implications but that many people don’t realize may be present in their rural environments. A campaign is now underway in Alberta to raise awareness and to encourage farmers, ranchers and rural homeowners to test their soil and water for the presence of this bacterium. Continue reading Testing key to knowing what’s in your water – and protecting your farm  Here’s a piece I wrote as a guest post for the Canadian Beef Blog.
Every day is Earth Day on the farm. This slogan has long been used by folks in agriculture to highlight how farming benefits the environment. The good news stories don’t get told is a common complaint I hear from the farmers and farm groups I work with. And that’s usually true. It’s the bad actors that make the headlines and get the column space – manure spills, pesticide overuse and water contamination feed the sensationalism machine much more voraciously than a wetland preserved, an erosion control implemented or a strip of trees planted. I’m not going to pretend that the bad things don’t happen. They unfortunately do, but luckily, they are the exception rather than the norm. Continue reading What you probably didn’t know is happening on our farms Farmers – are you frustrated by people who don’t understand what you do on your farm? Do you wish more consumers knew how food was produced or more politicians had a sense of the realities of farming? Many of us in agriculture have had these sentiments at some time and often feel helpless to do anything about them. There is an answer though – social media. It’s easy to use, reaches a wide base of people you wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to interact with and it’s free. Continue reading A difference in 10 minutes a day  There was good news in the provincial budget for farmers this week. The Ontario government announced new, permanent risk-management programs that farmers have long been asking for to help bring some much needed stability to notoriously fluctuating farm incomes.
Farm leaders have been making their case both federally and provincially about the need for this kind of support for a long time. A pilot program specifically for farmers who grow grains and oilseeds, like soybeans and canola, was announced four years ago and its success made it a model for other agricultural sectors also in need of long-term stability, like pork, beef, veal and fruits and vegetables. What makes farming so special that they need government-supported risk-management programs? Continue reading Long awaited support for local food and farming  Few relationships are more personal than the one we have with our food. We trust that what we eat will sustain us, nourish us and help keep us healthy.
In Canada, public trust in our food supply is high, a fact that’s been proven repeatedly in studies carried out by Ipsos Reid for AGCare and the Ontario Farm Animal Council (OFAC). But as increasingly fewer Canadians know how food is produced and where it comes from, those numbers won’t stay high forever. This means farmers need to become involved in the discussion about the future of farming and food production that is good for people, animals and the planet. Two food industry experts will discuss the whys and hows of building trust in Canada’s food system at the upcoming AGCare and OFAC annual meeting and speakers’ program. Continue reading The whys and hows of building trust in our food  For anyone writing or blogging about farming, here’s a great resource for you.
One of my biggest struggles is always trying to find current, accurate and available photos to go along with articles or blog posts. The Ontario agriculture photo library has a wide array of available photos depicting many of the different aspects of farming in our province. Continue reading Fabulous farming fotos  The winter blahs have well and truly set in, especially for those of us who can’t escape by heading south. Last week’s few short days of warmth and sunshine seemed to transform our drab winter world as people reawakened and remerged. Everyone was talking about the weather those few days — because that’s what we do as Canadians, we talk about the weather.
Continue reading Waxing about weather defines us
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