Whisked away for a prairie farm weekend
Connecting consumers and farmers has become a new imperative. Research from the Ontario Ministry...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jun 22, 2012 | Global, Guelph Mercury
Connecting consumers and farmers has become a new imperative. Research from the Ontario Ministry...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jun 10, 2012 | Guelph Mercury
Agriculture is changing, becoming increasingly diverse and environmentally conscious. These changes are reflected in two federal funding initiatives announced over the past week in disparate parts of the country (not ours),...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Apr 29, 2012 | Guelph Mercury
Wind energy has been called the most divisive issue ever in rural Ontario. I’m not sure that’s true, and it’s hard to quantify. But there’s no doubt wind energy — or more specifically, the turbines that turn wind into energy —...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Oct 31, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
As fall advances and winter approaches, weeds don’t look like much of a problem. But in Ontario and elsewhere, some of them are developing resistance to the same herbicides that would kill them only a few years ago. The...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jul 4, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
Happy Independence Day to my US friends, who’ll be toasting their country today in homegrown spirit with some locally grown and produced beverages. I’m looking forward to introducing (or re-introducing) them to...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jun 20, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
As the global population grows and questions arise about farmers’ ability to feed everyone, questions are also arising about their moral obligation to do so — particularly in light of new possibilities that are emerging for them...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | May 16, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews says she sensed a conciliatory tone and open mindedness among rural candidates in the recent federal election. She says regardless of their political stripes, they...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | May 2, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
People vote either with their wallets or their ballots for people they trust. People trust farmers. Farmers rank high among the most trusted occupations. So maybe it’s no wonder local food, which farmers produce, has caught on...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jan 17, 2011 | Guelph Mercury
Ontario has taken to heart farmers’ pleas for an elk hunt. Coyotes, take note — odds are you’re next. The Ministry of Natural Resources has announced that the first modern-era elk hunt will take place in Ontario in September....
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Sep 20, 2010 | Guelph Mercury
Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is well-intentioned but needs some fine tuning, according to separate reports and statements from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the George Morris Centre. The federation is...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Apr 12, 2010 | Guelph Mercury
Farmers on both sides of the Canada-US border have chosen sustainability as a rallying cry. It’s a familiar term to the urban politicians and others they’re trying to influence. I think most people associate the term...
Read Moreby Owen Roberts | Jan 29, 2010 | General news
Is modern agriculture on the right track? For the most part yes, says Rob Hannam, president of the Synthesis Agri-Food Consulting Network. Rob, pictured below, offered a well-paced and ample presentation on the topic to a full...
Read More
Owen Roberts is a faculty member in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications program at the University of Illinois. As an agricultural journalist, he is the past president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a lifetime achievement award recipient from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation. His programs and research papers have been recognized nationally and internationally through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence, and others.