There is a common adage in agriculture: wheat is 14 per cent protein and 86 per cent politics. This applies as much to international markets as it does to domestic policy debates.

Recently, I gave a talk about the future of agriculture. The most difficult segment was addressing how our sector balances individuality with its dependence on systems. Systems are now part of every conversation and “systems thinking” is all the buzz.

2020 relentlessly injected volatility, often negative, into everyday experience. COVID-19 is the obvious culprit. In addition, a decline in national and international co-operation has exacerbated the entire situation.

Co-operation and collaboration are not new in the barley world, whether we’re talking about research and development, working to create and support markets for Canadian barley or dealing with collective market challenges. There are so many issues at play and many moving parts in today’s world of technological complexity, trade issues and regulatory challenges, never mind throwing in a global pandemic.

Agricultural tech entrepreneurs need look no further than Alberta to morph their hot concept into a tangible business. This is the aim of Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) Rockies and its new Ag Stream at the University of Calgary.

The first Co-op Disker rolled off the assembly line of the of the Canadian Co-operative Implements Ltd. (CCIL) Winnipeg, MB, plant in August 1946 and launched a new era in tillage and seeding practices in North America.

Early snow and wet or moist conditions in the fall are conducive to pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in wheat and barley. PHS occurs when the seed’s dormancy is broken, forcing it to germinate rather than to store starch as it should prior to harvest.

BY ERIN GOWRILUK On Aug. 18, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Parliament would be prorogued until Sept. 23. His rationale? To hit the reset button and write a new throne speech to lay out a pathway for Canada’s post-pandemic recovery. When the speech was delivered, however, the one glaring omission was any mention of the sectors that would be needed to help […]

A shared value strategy under development in the Canadian grains sector will enable eco-labelling for products made using western Canadian winter wheat, a crop that has seen a years-long decline in Prairie acreage.

I was recently asked how COVID-19 has influenced “extension delivery,” the transfer of agricultural knowledge to farmers. The question prompted a surge of thinking about what has happened during the 2020 pandemic and how this process has changed over the years.