With the second-largest reserve landbase in Canada and 23 per cent of its 210,080 Prairie acres earmarked for agricultural use, the Siksika Nation appears uniquely positioned to thrive in the farm sector. This is not the case. Though farming has taken place on Siksika since the turn of the previous century, only a handful of families have been able to make a go of it as independent operators. To understand why, we must unpack the policies and practices that form the historical and legal relationship between First Nations people and the Government of Canada.

Interest in gene editing is on the rise, and this technology is now being used in cereal breeding for the first time. As wheat farmers continue to grapple with climate change, politics and consumer demand in their quest for black ink, gene editing—the process of adding to, removing or changing an organism’s DNA—may help balance these demands.

According to research from Farm Management Canada (FMC), less than one in four Canadian farmers have a written farm business plan. Such a document serves as a decision-making roadmap. While it can be used to manage and mitigate risk, it also sets a course to achieve goals.

Farmers are skilled at many tasks. Marketing an entire season of crops while in line at Tim Hortons or properly sampling a super-B of grain while scrolling social media are but two examples. One thing many farmers just aren’t too good at, though, is retirement. For so many, 65 really is just a number. With the wisdom they’ve acquired in the art and science of farming, they can continue to make a difference. And given the standard auto features and air-rider comfort of new-model tractors, the work has become more physically accommodating for senior farmers.

Mark Walker’s maternal grandparents farmed in Manitoba’s Interlake Region and his father grew up on a livestock farm just outside Victoria, B.C. These deep family farming connections led him to pursue an academic path to a career in agriculture.

In February, the federal government created the new Canada Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-Food office (IPAAO) in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. The facility is intended to expand trade opportunities in the region. “The creation of the IPAAO is unprecedented for Canada’s agriculture sector,” said an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) spokesperson. “It is the first time the sector will have a regional office dedicated to the Indo-Pacific region as a whole under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.”

On a sweltering day in June, Nichole Neubauer enlisted a recent graduate of the Medicine Hat College Sustainable Innovation program to set up a ferruginous hawk nesting platform on a grassland pasture area on her farm near the southern Alberta city. Atop a telephone pole roughly four metres off the ground, cross pieces support the flat, triangular structure. Neubauer said the hawks have historically helped control the farm’s rodent population and the platform will assist in efforts to secure a healthy future for the birds. The project is in line with an Alberta Environment and Protected Areas project that has made significant strides to restore the hawk’s diminished population.

Scientists continue to do their part in the fight against nasty cereal diseases. A Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) team has completed an innovative three-year study that will allow for faster recognition and identification of rust and Fusarium types.

Team Alberta Crops conducted a three-year, $1.5-million project to measure pesticide concentrations on farm wetlands. The organization’s commission members, product manufacturers and Results Driven Agriculture Research provided funding.

It’s been 40 years since the Government of Canada released its first soil health report, which called for the nation to address a then-dire future of its soils. On June 6, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry tabled a new report that followed 17 months of consultation, input from expert witnesses, international conferences and cross-country, fact-finding missions. It is entitled Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human, and Social Health.