Barry Cowen expresses regret over his dismissal from the Agriculture Minister position six years ago, acknowledging that both he and his party have learned valuable lessons from that experience.
"The awesome thing with pulse crops is no nitrogen needs... not having to put any nitrogen on a pulse crop is a great starting point," he says, noting that this allows growers to not only meet PKS requirements but, in some cases, build soil fertility for the rotation.
Food policy across much of the world is changing. But not in Britain. That may be a costly mistake as the prices of essentials rise because of the climate emergency, geopolitical tensions and the fragility of just-in-time supply chains. Many capitals are now reviving their strategic food reserves. European nations such as Sweden, Finland, Norway and Germany are rebuilding stocks dismantled after the cold war.
The avocado seedlings enabled him to grow his farm income to close to 2m Kenyan shillings, with each mature avocado tree yielding 70kg annually. Improving farming methods and conserving the watershed has helped me to feed and educate my six children.
"If Canada wants generational change in agricultural innovation, we need to transform our policy around how we fund plant breeding," he says. The current system, heavily reliant on public funding and check-off dollars, is increasingly under pressure. Reinheimer points to signs that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is shrinking its breeding footprint-especially in wheat, where AAFC varieties still account for about 80 per cent of acres. The problem? There's no updated funding model to match that shift.
Across Ontario, producers are building healthier soils and improving their operations through everyday decisions - ones that shape productivity today and influence the legacy left for the next generation. The Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) supports this work by providing cost-share funding to support the implementation of nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing projects. Many operations are already putting these beneficial management practices (BMPs) to work.
If we did that today, it would be a hundred percent, because right now, without question, 2026 is riskier than 2025. So farmers really [face significant challenges]. The war in Iran continues and it works back to the world of agriculture. It's had an impact on fertiliser and diesel prices and commodity markets, as well as currency.
When you think of farming, what ingredients do you generally associate with a successful harvest? The basics certainly come to mind: fertile soil, plenty of sunlight and lots of water. But there are other variables that can also mean the difference between a crop of healthy fruits and vegetables and a large heap of organic waste. And it turns out that one of those variables is a very small hawk.
According to the job posting, the successful candidate will serve as the lead provincial specialist for edible beans and edible oilseeds, including Identity Preserved (IP) soybeans, spring and winter canola, flaxseed, and sunflower. The role centres on technology transfer - developing and implementing strategies, policies, and programs - while coordinating projects that assess new and existing practices for their suitability under Ontario conditions. The specialist will also prepare and deliver educational tools, act as a liaison between the research community and industry, support policy and program development, and manage high-priority or contentious issues in the sector.
My career as an agronomist required me to take scientific research and apply that knowledge, to assist farmers by helping them solve problems and increase their farms profitability. The ag industry relies on research to continue to solve the ever-changing problems that farmers face. Today my farm business employs management practices that have come directly from the Lacombe Research and Development Centre, this has improved my farms resilience and profitability.
As concepts such as "regenerative" and "biodynamic" continue to enter the mainstream coffee lexicon, scientists continue to literally dig into the soil to give them meaning. A recent peer-reviewed study from India's Western Ghats argues that one of the clearest signals of healthy, sustainable coffee farms lies in the ground itself, with organic coffee soils performing better than soils from conventional farms treated with synthetic inputs.
"I've been with Syngenta for 28 years," Ramachandran says, noting that early travels across Canada shaped his passion for seed care. "What really stood out to me is seeing firsthand the passion, the resilience and the impact the growers made." Those experiences, combined with Canada's short growing season, continue to guide his work. "Everything that we have done... is around addressing those challenges, and how do we create solutions that are fit for purpose, for Canadian growers?"
I think that you just got to do it and you've got to do it because nobody else is lined up to do it for you. Working hard has its rewards... and also to give back to the community because the farming community just does that.
Based on years of post-transition reviews, MNP has identified seven traits common to successful farm families, MacLean says. First, they start early. Early planning allows flexibility and time to work through the tough stuff. Clear, respectful communication is the second trait - and it's essential. Families who talk openly and establish expectations avoid the dangerous territory of unspoken assumptions. Farms that navigate the process well have a shared vision.
A group of Illinois small farmers are meeting with members of Congress on Thursday in Washington to discuss their hopes for "transformational investments" in the next farm bill, which governs policy in the agricultural sector. As they see it, the new law could provide significant financial investment and protections that reduce economic inequality and racial injustice; build crop and human resilience to climate change and unpredictable weather; and improve access to nutritious food and sustainable, local systems.
