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  This is an update to a blog post I put up almost a year ago, where I wrote about a soy-based asphalt sealant that can help keep potholes at bay. I was intrigued by the potential of the product at the time – both for municipalities trying to keep their roads budgets under control in the crazy Canadian climate and for farmers seeking new market opportunities for their soybean crops. Well, we’re a few steps closer to reality on both fronts – the product is now being tested on a one kilometre stretch of road near Owen Sound and will be evaluated by the Grey County Department of Transportation and Public Safety to determine its effectiveness in the Canadian climate. Continue reading Soybeans could help extend life of asphalt roads In Western Canada, student enrolment at various agricultural colleges is on the rise. And an increasing percentage of students flocking to programs in animal, food, life and environmental sciences are coming from urban areas, which spokespeople at these institutions attribute at least partly to the growing public interest in agriculture and food. Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College hasn’t yet released its enrolment numbers for this year so I don’t know if this is purely a western phenomenon. I’m intrigued by it, however, especially in the face of a commonly used agricultural statistic — the average age of Canadian farmers. Statistics Canada tells us it’s approximately 52 years of age, which elicits hand-wringing and worry from some corners about agriculture’s future. Yes, it’s a high number, but at the end of the day, it’s just that — a number. On its own, it does little to tell the real story of what’s going on in food and farming. So who is the farmer of the future? Continue reading Dispelling dispair about the future of food and farming
Researchers at the University of Guelph are working on a new soy-oil based bio-resin that, when mixed with soy stalks and soybean meal, can create new biodegradable “green composites”. Continue reading Car, furniture production cheaper, greener with soy
Edamame is a succulent soybean that is popular in Asian cuisine. Currently virtually all edamame consumed in Canada is grown in Asia, which means there could be a market opportunity for Ontario farmers to begin growing the crop here. This is what led farmer Jason Persall, a fourth generation farmer who markets a line of 100 percent Canadian oils, wine vinegars, soya sauces and cooking wines under the Pristine Gourmet brand, to trial different varieties on his Waterford-area farm. Continue reading Ontario edamame ready for harvest!
So, given that background, the thought that products like Nutella and Fererro Rochers might soon be considered locally grown makes my chocolate-loving heart beat just a little bit faster. Continue reading Chocolate as a local Ontario food?
Gerard Schouwenaar of Orchard Park Growers, a St. Catharines-area flower producer, retrofitted a 30,000 sq ft greenhouse in the fall of 2009 with the technology—also called a thermal curtain—as a |   | ||||
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Soybean varieties developed for specific food and health applications represent a key future growth opportunity for the Canadian soybean industry. Different types of soybean protein can be ideally suited to specific food applications, which can lead to new food products and processes, says a University of Guelph scientist who is involved in research in this field.
Soybeans are helping to make industrial epoxy resins used in construction, automotive and furniture production hardier, greener and less expensive.
I make no secret of my love affair with chocolate. In fact, as someone born in Switzerland, I sometimes feel like it’s my cultural duty to my heritage to ensure that my blood flows as chocolate-brown as possible.
Farmers are looking at many different solutions for dealing with rising energy costs. For one greenhouse grower, the answer lies with a new technology, a thermal blanket installation, which is expected to lower his energy costs by about one-third.