Food and Farming Canada

A house made of soy

Lilian — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:58:46 +0000

Grow your own pasta – virtually

Lilian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:59:06 +0000

When I came across a website that mentioned it would let me grow my own wheat online and follow it through right to my dinner plate, I have to admit I was intrigued. I went to www.howwheatworks.com and signed myself up so I could get started. Faced with several different wheat types I could plant, [...]

Speaking champs crowned in Toronto

Lilian — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:49:50 +0000

They’re young, they’re smart and they’re passionate. And this past Saturday afternoon, they were strutting their stuff as finalists in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. These six presenters spoke to an assembled crowd in the fair’s cafe on everything from unsung heros of agriculture, what they [...]

Presenting modern agriculture

Lilian — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:29:31 +0000

Here’s a great blog post about modern agriculture and bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. It’s written by Australian journalist Pip Courtney of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (the Aussie equivalent of the CBC here in Canada), whom I had the opportunity to meet while attending the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists (IFAJ) congress in [...]

Putting a face to farming

Lilian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:05:16 +0000

We all eat but most of us likely give it little thought beyond worrying about calories or fat content. We certainly aren’t likely to spend a lot of time thinking about who grew that food and the work that someone somewhere put into producing it. But that’s the goal of the 2010 Faces of Farming [...]

Canada’s farms not suited to 100 mile diet?

Lilian — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:09:33 +0000

It’s harvest time in Ontario – a time of bounty and plenty for lovers of local food. But where Canadian agriculture is concerned, it’s not all about buying local and the 100-mile diet, even though everyone seems to be getting in on that action. It’s true that local food is growing in popularity and the 100-mile [...]

Farm animal welfare blog launched

Lilian — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:27:05 +0000

Alberta Pork’s H1N1 challenges, responses

Lilian — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:59:08 +0000

This post is a continuation from yesterday’s H1N1 topic that explored Alberta Pork’s experiences at the centre of the H1N1 media storm earlier this year. The information is based on a presentation I attended by Lee Funke of Torque Communications at the recently held Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference in Edmonton. He outlined some of the [...]

Inside Alberta Pork’s H1N1 war room

Lilian — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:51:17 +0000

It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be at the centre of a media firestorm unless you’ve actually experienced it. For the staff at Alberta Pork and the communications professionals working with them, the spring of 2009 provided more first-hand experience than they could have ever wished for. Lee Funke of Alberta-based Torque Communications [...]

Free farm disposal program starts tomorrow

Lilian — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:38:36 +0000

Farmers can safely dispose of their obsolete pesticides, unused animal health products and used sharps at collection sites across Ontario this week. The CleanFARMS blitz program starts tomorrow and will run until October 22 as part of an Ontario government-supported Great Lakes Basin water quality initiative that offers farmers a free, safe way to recycle and [...]