Consumer desire to source local food a cash-cow for on-farm direct marketing businesses By Diana Martin Glacier FarmMedia staff Consumers took a more active role in sourcing locally produced protein when COVID-19 exposed challenges in the food supply chain. Mike Dougherty, along with his mom Suzy and brother Doug had been steadily growing their 50-acre […]
Tag: beef cattle
Northern Ontario farm serves local market
By Ed White Glacier FarmMedia staff What kind of crazy people would set up a vegetable farm from scratch outside Thunder Bay, Ont.? Two southern Ontarians with no agriculture education or background, that’s who. Ten years later, Marcelle Paulin and Brendan Grant have turned Sleepy G Farm into a model for how a small farm […]
Soil health key for northern Alberta farm
Ty and Janice Shelton have made significant improvements to their potato yields by properly managing their soil By Jeremy Simes Glacier FarmMedia staff The Shelton family has managed to turn their once sandy soils into something rich and fertile, a testament to their ongoing commitment to improve the land. The proof can be seen in […]
Alberta couple chooses a different route to farming
By Alexis Kienlen Glacier FarmMedia staff Although Ben Campbell is a third-generation rancher, he didn’t have an operation he could take over. And when he looked at the math for starting his own ranch, it was worse than ugly — he figured he’d need $3 million in assets to generate an income of $50,000. “I […]
Organic experiment sparks farm rethink
By Gord Leathers Glacier FarmMedia contributor It all started with a request from a neighbour selling them land. About seven years ago Paul Harris, of Harris Farms near Stony Mountain, Manitoba, and his son Andrew bought some land. The land was organic so the previous owner asked them to keep it that way. They honoured […]
Alberta couple’s permaculture operation offers food for thought
By Jennifer Blair Glacier FarmMedia staff Nancy and Chad Hewlett wanted to do things a little differently when they decided to start farming four years ago. So they moved away from the conventional farming of their childhoods and took a more holistic approach instead. “Shifting to permaculture was a huge learning curve. Some days, it […]
Organic food continues to win market share
Alberta Farmer Express – The Canada Organic Trade Association marked National Organic Week in September by releasing new data that shows a “staggering” increase in the number of Canadians who are buying organic groceries every week. An online consumer research study done earlier this year found that organic food is on the weekly shopping list […]
USDA needs to crack down on bogus organics
A July 3 editorial from Agweek, published in Grand Forks, North Dakota. U.S. commercial agriculture produces more food than American consumers can consume. We want to send our surplus to the world — frozen chicken, edible beans, soybeans. Conversely, we want agricultural imports. In the Upper Great Plains of the Dakotas, Minnesota and Montana, we […]
Studying the benefits of grassfed livestock
The production system is linked to healthier meat, egg and dairy products By Laura Rance OrganicBiz staff It’s unlikely that University of Toronto researcher Richard Bazinet will include on his resumé the fact that he had a whole room of farmers holding their noses during one of his presentations. But it was actually an effective […]
Costco works with farmers to increase organic food supply
OrganicBiz staff The Seattle Times is reporting that Costco has started investing in farmers to increase the supply of organic foods and keep pace with consumer demand. “While other retailers might have loan programs for suppliers to upgrade equipment or offer financial incentives such as advance payments or long-term contracts, helping farmers buy land to […]