The Successors is a RealAgriculture podcast series hosted by Kara Oosterhuis focusing on agriculture from the perspective of the up-and-coming generation. How do you make a choice to change your career, when you have committed to a certain track? What can you do to unite the industry, and break down silos within agriculture? Why is… Read More
Category: Advocacy
Two well-known brands, especially in the U.S. Midwest — Busch Light and John Deere — have made the best of spring in an attempt to raise some funds for a good cause. According to the official Busch Beer website, “For the Farmers” is a partnership between the two companies to raise awareness of the needs… Read More
Canada’s young farmers are helping to strengthen the agriculture and agri-food sector through their leadership and innovative contributions, which is why the federal government has announced up to $2.1 million for three organizations to support development opportunities for Canadian youth in agriculture. With funds under the AgriCompetitiveness Program, these organizations will deliver important programming and… Read More
Public opinion is sometimes tough to gauge with many jumping on social media to air any slight inconvenience, which can then skew the perception of people, services, and even entire industries. This is where comprehensive surveys, such as the one spearheaded by Grassroots Public Affairs, plays an important role to see how Canadians truly feel… Read More
Farm & Food Care Ontario (FFCO) will receive $547,200 for outreach initiatives over the next three years, through provincial funding announced April 13, 2022. The new funding will be put towards supporting five of the organization’s activities, all designed to raise awareness and appreciation of Ontario farmers and food producers. The funding will support: FFCO’s Breakfast on/from… Read More
To kick off this year’s Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM), Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced $415,000 in support for Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C). CALM, celebrated annually in March, encourages students to learn about and celebrate Canada’s incredible agriculture and food story. In celebration of CALM, AITC-C is hosting… Read More
The Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame honours leaders in agriculture in the province who have made significant contributions. There are four inductees this year, including: Rick Holm, professor emeritus in plant science at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) and former director of the Crop Development Centre; William (Bill) Jameson, founding partner of JGL… Read More
Farm & Food Care Ontario, through the AgriCompetitiveness Program, will receive up to $275,000 to help Canadian consumers learn more about food production, farming, and the people who work in the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sectors. The funding will be administered by Farm & Food Care Ontario that will work with partners in Prince Edward Island… Read More
I’ve been having this conversation a lot lately, as I’m sure many of you have been too — I’m not sure how we’re at the end of December already. Although the last couple of weeks have shown some true winter temperatures, it has been abnormally warm (and dry) in my area, which I’m convinced has… Read More
Not-for-profit associations will have the opportunity to access a piece of $8 million in federal funding over the next three years for communications initiatives. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the AgriCommunication Initiative via webcast December 9, 2021. The initiative will support progress towards achieving Canadian’s access to safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse… Read More
The year’s Outstanding Young Farmers were named this past weekend, in a virtual event December 1st to 3rd, 2021. Winners for the west and east are Raymond and Tracey Bredenhof, of R&T Poultry & Bredenhof Hops in Abbotsford, B.C., and Jenny Butcher and Wes Kuntz, Little Brown Cow Dairy, Brantford, Ont. For the last 41 years, this… Read More
Farm Management Canada held its annual Agricultural Excellence Conference last month where Colleen Younie was announced as the 2021 recipient of the Wilson Loree Award. Now in its nineteenth year, the award honours individuals or groups who have made an extraordinary contribution to advancing agricultural business management practices in Canada. Since 1972, Younie has served… Read More
As demographics and societal priorities change, the big question of “how to most effectively lobby government?” has an ever-evolving answer. The answer to that question is especially relevant in farm and food policy, as decision-makers in government that have a strong understanding of agriculture and how the food system works are increasingly difficult to find…. Read More
Now that the federal cabinet has been selected and we have spent the last ten days worrying about the challenges and pin-pointing the potential positives, the agricultural industry needs to step back and build a better game plan when it comes to lobbying. Over time, lobbying for the agriculture industry has transitioned from being focused… Read More
Good science communication tells a clear story. Taking a science communications class was a requirement of my MSc program at the University of Saskatchewan, and it has turned out to be a skill that I use every day. One of the most important things I learned in that class is that communicating science can be… Read More