Owen Roberts June 9th, 2010
Congratulations to the newly formed Atlantic Canada Farm Writers’ Association, the sixth association under the umbrella of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation. The 12-person charter group, led by federation senator Allison Finnamore, assembled earlier this month in the cradle of Canadian confederation, Charlottetown, PEI.
Allison writes about the experience on her blog , and cites these reasons for having a local farm writers’ group:
- Farmers and agriculture — around the world, throughout our country or in our own back yard — have important stories to tell, and we need to help them.
- We need to gather together to share our experiences about what works and what doesn’t work when we tell these stories.
- We need to learn about the new practices farmers are adopting and how they’re working on the farm.
- We need to stay informed and up-to-date with the latest communication methods.
- We need to polish our photography skills and sharpen our reporting proficiency.
- We need to network with each other.
Good luck to this new group of agricultural journalists and communications professionals. Thanks to the anonymous security guard who took the photo of the group, which included Gwyn Bellefontaine (third from left), a former agricultural communications student of mine at the University of Guelph, along with Allison, fourth from the right.
Charter members of the Atlantic Canada Farm Writers' Association: (from left) Andy Walker (PEI), Wayne MacKinnon (PEI), Gwyn Bellefontaine (PEI), George Fullarton (NB), Allison Finnamore (NB), Wayne Riley (PEI), Jeanne Whitehead (NB) and Nina Linton (PEI).
Owen Roberts May 31st, 2010
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Arlene King, says wind turbines are not a health problem. Some people living within the vicinity of the machines have reported dizziness, headaches and sleep disturbance. The complaints prompted King to conduct a review of previously published studies mainly from abroad, and current legislation here. When she put them together in a report, she concluded Ontario’s nearly 700 wind turbines are not making people sick.
But there’s a lot more to this story. In isolation, wind turbines are a technology-driven, renewable energy source with the potential to contribute to the greening of Ontario. But what about their aesthetics? And what about their affect on farm animals? Or what about using land to produce energy rather than crops and livestock? Those are hot buttons for people everywhere.
Science and society clash when technology is not well understood or presented. I cover the wind turbine decision in my Urban Cowboy column is today’s Guelph Mercury.
The wind farm photo below is from treehugger.
Owen Roberts May 25th, 2010
The optimism that normally surrounds planting season is mired in a troubling forecast about Ontario farm income. As farmers put their 2010 crops in the ground, Ottawa is predicting they could lose as much as $500 million when they harvest in a few months. That’s the worst case scenario. But even the best case scenario has them deep in the hole. It could easily be one of the worst years ever for Ontario farmers, and it’s the topic of my Urban Cowboy column in today’s Guelph Mercury.
Farm groups such as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture are trying to sound the alarm bell and drum up support for relief from what federation president Bette Jean Crews calls a crisis. “It’s not farmers’ fault, it’s not the government’s fault, it’s a combination of factors that made for a perfect storm,” she says. “Government programs exist that will get us through one crisis, but not a multitude of crises all at the same time. The numbers are staggering and we need help.”
Crews says even the weather is wreaking havoc on farmers, such as the tornado that went through Grey and Bruce counties, yielding the photo below. This photo and others appear on the OFA website.
Owen Roberts May 17th, 2010
In this week’s Urban Cowboy column, I write about Ontario’s growing interest in horses, and the equine expo that’s been developed to serve the market.
Early next month, all eyes in the equine community will fall on the University of Guelph Arkell Research Station when the equine expo gets underway there. It’s being staged by Guelph-based Canada’s Outdoor Shows Ltd., in partnership with the Arkell station and Equine Guelph, along with support from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Ontario Equestrian Federation and Equine Canada.
The province’s 350,000 horses and 80,000 horse owners help anchor Ontario’s farm economy, and offer some stability when other parts of the livestock sector are having their ups and downs. About half of all the horses in Ontario reside on farms and acreages within 150 kilometres or so of Guelph. It’s become a world-renown horse hub, a centre for all things equine. That’s thanks in part to expertise at the Ontario Veterinary College and at Equine Guelph, an organization dedicated to research, education and training, performance, healthcare and industry development.
The photo below by Guelph photographer Martin Schwalbe of equine researcher Dr. Katrina Merkies from the university’s Kemptville campus first appeared in the university’s Research magazine, dedicated to equine studies.
Owen Roberts May 10th, 2010
Healthy animals are profitable animals. And for farmers, profitability is the bottom line. Farmers who treat their animals poorly can face veterinary bills, and other costly problems – such as a turned-off, non-supportive public. But right now, for the most part, consumers are on farmers’ side.
And farmers aim to keep it that way.
Hon. Gerry Ritz, the federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, stopped at the University of Guelph recently to announce Ottawa was dedicating $3.4 million to help develop or update codes of good practice for livestock, particularly livestock handling. The funding will include funding for peer-reviewed, on-farm care-assessment measures. I write about this support in my Urban Cowboy column in today’s Guelph Mercury.
The photo below by Guelph photographer Martin Schwalbe shows Prof. Vern Osborne and graduate student Carolyn Borsy in the university’s dairy barn, where their research revealed water is an ideal vehicle for delivering nutrients to dairy cows during a critical phase of their milk cycle. Their story appears in the University of Guelph Research magazine.
Owen Roberts May 3rd, 2010
Ontario grain farmers are finally getting a break. They’ve enjoyed a terrific spring, with the warm, sunny weather allowing them to plant almost all their corn unusually early. Soybeans are following nicely along. And if they get some well-timed rain, officials are predicting big boosts in yield.
Planting season in Ontario is usually a game of chance with the weather. Sometimes you win, like this year, and sometimes you don’t, like last spring which was wet, cold and miserable. Indeed, it can get downright uncomfortable. But you’d seldom call planting unsafe.
However, it’s different elsewhere. Take Passchendaele, for example, in northern Belgium, site of this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ congress, in which I participated last month. More than 90 years ago, Passchendaele was one of the major battlegrounds of the First World War. There, as in the rest of what’s called the Westhoek, the western part of West Flanders, planting season still means being on the lookout for the most grave of pests: Long-forgotten bombs.
I write about the way Belgian farmer Luk Delva (pictured below, with a bomb he found while planting this spring) and others deal with the ever-present menace in my Urban Cowboy column in today’s Guelph Mercury.
Thanks to Karen Simon, president of the American Agricultural Editors Association, for the superb photo.
Owen Roberts April 26th, 2010
Europeans aren’t big fans of biotechnology. They never embraced it the way North America did. And despite about 20 years of apparently safe production and consumption here, some people still aren’t convinced.
But don’t tell that to the good people of Ghent. Ghent is popularly called Europe’s Cradle of Biotechnology. Tucked away in north Belgium, it’s distinguished by numerous biotechnology initiatives including the Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research, a Flemish scientific institute.
Last week, a small army of scientists from the institute were more than happy to crawl out of bed on a sunny Sunday morning, and come into work to enthusiastically explain their biotechnology-based feed-the-world activities to a group of 120 agricultural journalists from around the world. I was among them, visiting as part of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists annual congress, held this year in Belgium (and next year in Canada, in Guelph and Niagara Falls, in September).
I write about the encounter with the Belgian scientists in my Urban Cowboy column in today’s Guelph Mercury.
Below, I’m pictured interviewing plant scientist Dr. Mark De Loose (that’s water he’s drinking) at the institute in Ghent. Thanks to IFAJ 2010 organizers for the photo.
Owen Roberts April 24th, 2010
John Eveson of Great Britain is the overall winner in the 2010 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists photo competition, for his photo entitled “sheep vs. sheep dog.” The photo, taken at the Skipton sheep dog sale, appeared in the Farmers Guardian in January, 2009, and was John’s 11th photo to figure in the finals of the long-running annual IFAJ awards.
The awards were presented earlier this week at the federation’s annual congress in Oostende, Belgium, hosted by the Belgian agricultural journalists’ guild. News releases about the winners in all media can be found here (scroll down to New at IFAJ).
Owen Roberts April 23rd, 2010
The time-tested tradition of handing the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists flag to the next host country — in our case, from Belgium to Canada — was an emotional one for me. Early on, I developed an appreciation of agriculture from a neighbouring farmer, George DeMeyer, a Belgian immigrant to Canada. I was hardly six years old when he taught me how to do chores and, later, how to drive a tractor. Those memories stuck with me and hit home when IFAJ 2011 co-chair Lilian Schaer (pictured below, at the IFAJ 2010 closing ceremonies earlier this week in Oostende, Belgium) and I accepted the IFAJ flag. For the 2011 Congress, we’ve chosen the theme Experience New World Agriculture, in part as a nod to immigrants who helped build Canada’s farm sector — farmers like George DeMeyer.
Congratulations to the organizers of IFAJ 2010 for a fantastic congress, and thanks for the photo to Joe Watson of Scotland, who will host IFAJ 2014.
Owen Roberts April 19th, 2010
Guelph’s already a national leader in agri-food innovation, but it’s only skimmed the surface, according to a new report commissioned by the city, the University of Guelph, the Guelph Partnership for Innovation, the chamber of commerce and Conestoga College. I cover the report’s recommendations, which include harnessing Guelph’s intellectual capital, in my Urban Cowboy column in today’s Guelph Mercury.
Some cluster models exist, such as the biotechnology innovation cluster that’s developed around Ghent University in Belgium, which I toured yesterday as part of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists‘ annual congress. Federation president Mike Wilson took the photo below of an artistic fruit and vegetable display at a nearby exhibition.
