Farming with family can be rewarding, and also stressful. Transitioning a farm's ownership from one generation to the next can be emotionally-charged and high stress, but would it be easier or any different if you were selling the business to a non-family member? Dick Wittman of Wittman Consulting says that many farmers may feel as... Read More
Category: Farm Management
Rural and urban communities have felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic differently. From gaps in healthcare, to transport challenges and through to isolation, the pandemic has brought to light some significant differences between city and rural dwellers. Dr. Gabe Woollam, a family physician based at Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, and president of the Society... Read More
The meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ag leaders ended without a full agreement on what Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau proposed back in November, 2020. At that time, Bibeau offered to remove the reference margin limit and increase the coverage level from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The cost structure of... Read More
Canadians' reliance on technology and systems for essential services, including in the agriculture sector, require constant innovation and vigilance in cyber security. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair has announced $500,000 over four years to the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance for their Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project. The funding is... Read More
It's that time of the year. Animals are having their young. Frost is leaving the soil. Spring has officially "sprung." This is such an exciting season. Personally, it's one of my favourites. Spring feels like New Year's Day to me, as it feels like a fresh start again. Time to start the garden. Time to... Read More
Farmers in Ontario's vegetable- and fruit-rich Simcoe area took to the streets on Tuesday, in a show of solidarity and protest of the health region's Section 22 order. Organized by local asparagus farmer Frank Schonberger, the protest was to bring awareness to the plight of farmers in the area who are struggling to meet the... Read More
For anyone who knows Shaun Haney, they know he's someone who is constantly thinking and evaluating what is going on around him. What has he been thinking about this week? On this RealAg LIVE! we've got a special "Freestyle Friday" where Shaun has an interactive chat with the audience, mixed with clips on his topic... Read More
It's unsurprising that animal rights extremist groups are challenging Ontario's Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, passed in 2020. The challenge, levelled by Animal Justice, alleges that the regulation violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of freedom of expression. The province says its bill was crafted "in a manner to... Read More
The federal minister of agriculture says it's been over 100 days since proposed funding and changes to AgriStability were announced, but she has not received a clear indication from any of the three Prairie Provinces on whether or not they will sign on. In a press conference Wednesday morning, Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Marie-Claude Bibeau... Read More
The federal government has clarified how temporary foreign workers (TWFs) will reach farms this spring, in the face of requirements to stay in Government Authorized Accommodation (GAA). So long as temporary foreign workers travel privately to their farms and can safely complete their mandatory 14 day quarantine on-farm, they will not need to complete the... Read More