News article sample ~ Written for Ontario Corn Producer, February 2009

Environmental consciousness and responsibility are becoming increasingly popular as more of us start “going green”. The reason? Consumers’ rising awareness of their environmental footprint and what impact that might have on the future – theirs, their children’s, and their grandchildren’s.

But in the farming world, caring for the environment is not just the latest trend. It’s a long-term commitment that has been going on for decades as farmers and government have quietly invested millions of dollars and hundreds of hours into environmental education, improvements and stewardship projects. Read the rest of this entry »

News article sample ~ Written for The Grower, January 2010

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.

“We’ve been in the business of feeding Canadians for 126 years and we take a long term view of things,” he says. “We think of business in terms of decades, not quarters, which is why we are successful.” Read the rest of this entry »

News article sample ~ Written for Ontario Grain Farmer, November 2009

As demand for “green” products increases, more and more technologies and opportunities for bio-based products are emerging alongside to meet those needs.

Crops like corn, wheat and soybeans are starting to replace traditional petroleum-based ingredients in these new bio-products, making them easier on the environment and lessening our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels. They’re also creating new market opportunities for farmers. Read the rest of this entry »

News article sample ~ Written for Ontario Farmer, February 9, 2010

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. Read the rest of this entry »

News article sample ~ Written for Canadian Cattlemen, February 2010

Food-borne illness is something nobody wants to experience. It’s unpleasant, costly and, in the case of illness caused by E. coli O157:H7, can cause lasting health problems or even death.

The total economic cost of E. coli O157:H7-related illness is high – as are costs associated with its prevention. A newly released study shows that the benefits of prevention, in this case through a control program involving the vaccination of cattle, outweigh the costs of such a program by a ratio of three to one, or approximately $68 million annually. Read the rest of this entry »

News article sample ~ Written for Ontario Dairy Farmer, March 2010

They’re an unlikely team – a new media researcher in Waterloo, an English professor from Georgia, a Brant County dairy farmer and 12 Holstein cows.

But they’ve come together in a unique social media project that looks at the way humans interact with animals and has the cows posting their daily activities on Twitter. Twitter is a popular social media website that allows users to connect with each other and share information through short posts of up to 140 characters.

Read the rest of this entry »