Comments for Owen Roberts

Comment on Women need mentors for farm leadership roles by Owen

Owen — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:10:03 +0000

Given the demographic in universities right now, I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more talented women such as you in the boardroom.

Comment on Women need mentors for farm leadership roles by Kate

Kate — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:28:21 +0000

Amen! I’ll be sitting at the head of that boardroom soon enough! In Syngenta’s leadership group, there are three women (out of nine people on the committee) which is a great start.

Comment on Horses for food make some people squirm by Erin

Erin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:16:03 +0000

Hi Lisa-

I am so pleased to hear that some other people in the horse industry share my views on slaughter. I very much wish others in the industry that are opposed to slaughter would realize the repercussions of banning it in the USA, such as a more arduous trip to Canada or Mexico for slaughter there or cases of neglect.

However, one point I have heard against slaughter is that it provides an easier turn-around for horse breeders. If they breed an animal not in demand and cannot sell it, the slaughter industry provides an outlet to send these unwanted animals. Using this logic, slaughter could in fact be supporting the bad breeding of many horses.

It is also interesting to note that the famed People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has said they are supportive of the move to reinstate horse slaughter. They understand that “the amount of suffering that it created exceeded the amount of suffering it was designed to stop”. They are, however, for the banning of horse slaughter in the USA if and only if it comes with the ban on transporting horses out of the country for slaughter. I find PETA’s stance on the issue a very forward-thinking opinion, and I applaud them for looking past the superficial opinion of just not wanting horses to be killed.

In an ideal world, horse slaughter would not exist in the first place- breeders would be educated enough to breed better quality and desired horses (or, in a perfect world, have a license to produce or own any animals!). This is not a feasible solution currently, so steps must be taken to deal with the consequences of uneducated and perhaps ignorant people.

Comment on Five quick tips for crisp copy by Lisa G

Lisa G — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:17:42 +0000

Good tips – I’m printing them out and posting them at my desk.

Comment on Horses for food make some people squirm by Lisa G

Lisa G — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:17:10 +0000

I’m a horse lover and horse owner, but I’m glad to hear that the U.S. is reinstating horse slaughtering facilities. Shipping horses further is harder on the animals, and severely neglecting them is much worse. The U.S. ban on slaughter has also helped reduce horse prices in Canada, and the resulting glut of horses has led to some animal-welfare issues here.

It’s also had a negative impact on breeders and others in the horse industry. My father and I bought three very nice, registered two-year olds last spring. The price for each horse was less than the stud fee would have been. Obviously we benefitted from the depressed prices, but I did feel bad for the breeders.

Comment on Five quick tips for crisp copy by Owen

Owen — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:48:04 +0000

Thanks Teresa. Those are actually my tips, not the presenter’s (Hope Kamin). I’m not sure if ECFWA will be posting the presenter’s tips, but I hope so — she had some great ones, such as…
- Avoid overused expressions such as “in order to” and “state of the art”
- Don’t use a hyphen with adverbs, such as “highly rated movie” or “lightly salted peanuts”
- When to use “that” and when to use “which.” She says the easiest way to remember is when you need a comma to indicate a separate clause, use which. For example: The office, which is next to the tower, is being renovated OR The building that once housed the office is being renovated. Here’s a letter association to help — Clause and Which. C and W. As in Country and Western. Which ag writer can forget that?

Comment on Five quick tips for crisp copy by Teresa Falk

Teresa Falk — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:45:57 +0000

Great tips! That would have been a worthwhile session to attend. Thanks for sharing!

Comment on OFA president Crews won’t seek re-election by Dan Wrightman

Dan Wrightman — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:01:30 +0000

I believe the OFA, under the leadership of Ms. Crews, made a strategic error by joining the GEA alliance which might permanently reduce the political influence of the OFA on the political arena. Farmers even in the most rural of ridings are now a minority. This is due to a cheap food policy over the last 50 years which has encouraged larger farms and fewer farmers. To elect MPP’s in rural ridings that are OFA policy friendly, a coalition of farm and nonfarm voters is now nessecary. In the past this was a relatively easy task, most nonfarm residents are relatives or friends of farmers, understand agriculture issues and have common cause with farmer concerns. However the Green Energy Act’s industrial wind turbine policy has blown this coalition apart. Farmers, even families are badly split on the wind turbine issue while non farm residents are shocked and angry at a government that has taken away local decision making and given it to faceless bureaucrats from Toronto. In the last provincial election the OFA’s support of the the GEA meant it supported Liberal candidates by default. Without the farmer/nonfarmer coalition almost every rural Liberal candidate in Ontario lost. What does this mean for the OFA? Well for one no political party can rely too heavily on OFA support to win rural ridings anymore. This means that the nessecary and valuable agriculture advice that the OFA can give may no longer be heeded by government decision makers and bureaucrats. This bodes badly for the future of agriculture in Ontario. In the upcoming OFA election the membership will have to carefuly decide if the percieved benefits of the GEA outweigh the rural division and loss of political influence that accompany it.

Comment on New network puts megaphone on rural Ontario by - SwineWeb.com - Latest Swine, Pork News and Information

- SwineWeb.com - Latest Swine, Pork News and Information — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:54:22 +0000

[...] New network puts megaphone on rural Ontario Posted on November 7, 2011 by Owen Roberts [...]

Comment on About my blog by Owen Roberts

Owen Roberts — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 02:44:41 +0000

Thanks Jennifer. I suggest you try Angelo Pavan at Cave Springs winery.