Researcher Tim McAllister says agriculture is a minimal contributor to global warming, but still needs to demonstrate it is running the safest, cleanest operation possible.

A crippled old cow and the killdeer nest

Hart Attacks: Agriculture is under scrutiny, and under public pressure to do the right thing

I remember a few years ago, one spring day, being at the farm of Brian Otto in southern Alberta and I suspect he wanted to bend my ear about how some politicians and agencies (read CWB) had their heads up their butts when it comes to grain marketing. Later we went out to a field […] Read more

Location of Class 2 and 3 lands in Alberta using the Agriculture Canada Land Suitability Rating System. Alberta has no Class 1 agricultural land. Alberta’s Class 2 land is mostly located in the vicinity of Calgary.


Loss of our prime agricultural lands

Agronomy Management: In Western Canada, we're losing our most productive lands

Soil and water are the most important sustainable natural resources in Western Canada. Both are essential to produce food and sustain human life. We hear a lot about the dwindling quality and availability of freshwater supplies, but society does not recognize the importance of soil. We continue to lose more and more of our best […] Read more


Those awkward conversations about food production

Those awkward conversations about food production

Talking to urban consumers about food can be more uncomfortable than political debate

By the time you read this, the 2015 federal election will be history. Maybe you will have even re-friended any politically-obnoxious people you dropped on Facebook in the weeks leading up to the big vote. Maybe. As I write this, before the election, I’m filled with the smug satisfaction of a citizen who already cast […] Read more

farm family

Is it my job to feed the world?

Point of View: A southeast B.C. farmer raises the question about where farmer priorities should be — looking after the family and community or feeding the world?


There is an unwritten law it seems in agriculture these days; whispered on the wind from coast to coast and pole to pole. Proclaimed and prophesied around tables from kitchens to cafés by old men, it has spread to the blogs and blundering of Internet chat rooms and Facebook foodie folklore. Many in mainstream agriculture […] Read more


wheat heads in hand

Everyone wants to be a farmer

City folk may not understand all the realities of farming, but many dream of doing it

It’s frustrating. I want my city friends to get it. I want them to understand how nuanced issues and trends like livestock production, genetically-modified organisms, fossil fuels, and eating farm-to-table are. It would be unfair to say city dwellers are vain, but I want to. Just as it would have been unfair of me to […] Read more

cutting meat

Higher demand, higher prices

Global equity investor says world food demand is likely on the rise

When it comes to global food consumption, there’s one trend Vikram Mansharamani is willing to bank on. “As the world gets more money in its pocket, it’s putting more meat in its mouth,” Mansharamani told attendees at the Canola Council of Canada’s conference in Banff last March. Mansharamani is a global equity investor and Yale […] Read more


cattle grazing on a pasture

“Sustainability” in all its forms

Industry sustainability is built 
one farm at a time, anticipating and being prepared for change

The “S” word (sustainability) has been in popular use for several years among industry and developers and it has recently undergone a major surge of interest in the beef industry. Sustainability really reflects the long-term viability of the industry in terms of the three pillars of the environment, economics and social demands. It would be […] Read more

grocery shopper in meat aisle

COOL may be the right direction

Labelling of origin and other functional characteristics will become more important

The confirmed new case of BSE in Alberta on Feb. 13 has caused Chian, Peru, Belarus and Taiwan to place temporary restrictions on Canadian beef. South Korea temporarily suspended imports immediately after the confirmed case while Indonesia has placed temporary restrictions on some non-edible meat products. The ability to persuade or educate the consumer is […] Read more