|  This post is courtesy of fellow blogger and farm and food aficionado Tiffany Mayer. She writes in the Niagara Region – check out her blog, Eating Niagara or follow her on Twitter.
Len Troup has been doing something unusual this past week. The Jordan Station tender fruit grower has been farming. It’s a drastic change of pace from the previous weeks, when Troup, chair of the Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board was spending more time in the political arena than his orchard. Continue reading Saving Ontario’s fruit farms  Consumers are looking for the full flavour of marbled pork and work is now underway to bring such products to the Ontario market.
Ontario Pork has taken the lead in working with farmers, retailers and processors to determine the level of marbling consumers want, evaluate different swine genetics and feeding regimens and assess the quality and consistency of carcasses.
Continue reading Meeting consumer demands for marbled pork This is a longer version of a post I put up last week – and this article is also printed in the Ontario Farmer this week.
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 An episode of Oprah. A film called Food Inc. A hard-hitting Time magazine cover story. A series in the Toronto Star. The last year was not a good one for agriculture on the public relations front, but a Guelph agri-food consultant still believes the industry is on the right track. And he offered some tips to help address the growing public perception issue as he spoke to a meeting of the Guelph Partnership for Innovation last week. Continue reading Farmers get some PR pointers An episode of Oprah, a hard-hitting Time magazine cover story, a film called Food Inc. – farming is under increased, often one-sided scrutiny leaving many people to wonder whether modern agriculture is on the right track. Rob Hannam, President of Synthesis Agri-Food Consulting, believes it encourages everyone to do more to address public perceptions of farming, he told a meeting of the Guelph Partnership for Innovation I attended last week. Continue reading Is farming on the right track?  A series of global trends will change everything about the way we eat, says the head of Canada’s largest grocery chain. And that means both adjustment and opportunity for those involved in food, Galen Weston of Loblaw Companies Limited told attendees at the Agricultural Adaptation Council’s annual meeting in Guelph recently. Continue reading Loblaws chief: global trends will impact food
It’s been about a year since we were plunged into financial crisis and economic uncertainty. In response, governments in many countries, including Canada, went to unprecedented lengths to protect jobs, stimulate growth and reassure nervous citizens. Here at home, signs of recovery are emerging. We see the economic action plan at work in our communities and every one of us is now a proud part owner of an automaker. But there’s one sector that still desperately needs support – one that is just as important and just as significant as cars, roads or bridges. And that’s agriculture. Continue reading Supporting food, farming and culture Normally, when I go grocery shopping, I approach the whole experience a bit like a military mission – with focus, list in hand and plan in mind to get in and out as quickly and painlessly as possible. Several weeks ago, I was a bit less rushed than usual at the supermarket, so I had a bit of time to slow down and observe what was going on around me. What I noticed intrigued me and stuck in my mind over the next few visits. Continue reading Pondering fresh meat’s future | |
