Most read

Columns

THE GENETICS OF GERMINATION

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.

Keep Reading
THRONE AWAY

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 […]

Keep Reading
AN ECO-LABEL OPPORTUNITY

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.

Keep Reading
INFORMATION EXCHANGE

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.

Keep Reading
POLICY BODY BUILDS AG INTELLIGENCE

Established in February of this year, the Simpson Centre for Agricultural and Food Innovation and Public Education has already caught the attention of ag industry policy makers. Housed at The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, the new entity was established in partnership with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The centre has been tasked with the mandate to build intellectual infrastructure for applied policy research in agri-food and agri-business.

Keep Reading
EXPERT INSIGHT

If you thought being the new kid in school was a lot of pressure, try being the new research chair at a place of higher learning. With the support of industry groups, three agricultural chairs recently appointed by western educational institutions are tasked with prioritizing and planning research efforts. As they take a seat at the farm research table, they aim to contribute to the betterment of the Prairie grain industry.

Keep Reading
THE ANSWER AND THE IMPEDIMENT

While crop yields have reached previously unheard of levels, the coronavirus pandemic has elevated the importance of food security. For the farmers who ably grow the crops that feed the world, the central concern is income security. It is often the marketing of their products that is troublesome. Farmers increasingly need to be connected to find avenues to market the bounty. Access to information is a key component in making effective marketing decisions. A perennial critique of western Canadian agriculture is a significant information disequilibrium exists between farmers and line companies. How can the gap be bridged?

Keep Reading
Go to TOP