For the first time in Canadian farming, the way a farm markets its products — or “ingredients,” as local food guru Anita Stewart calls them — is more important than how it produces them. That eye-opening...
Read MoreMy students are helping promote a University of Guelph-led international conference about two hours north of here this summer, on boar semen technology. It’s the first time this globally minded gathering has ever come to...
Read MoreSomeone dropped the ball last week when Canada’s new food guide was unveiled. They forgot about farmers. The guide, which tells you what to eat to be healthy, was rolled out at two grocery stores, not far from Ottawa....
Read MoreIn the two weeks since U.S. President George W. Bush pronounced his enhanced commitment to biofuel, momentum for it — and hysteria surrounding it — has switched into high gear. When Bush gushed about biofuel in his...
Read MoreCanada appears to be getting greener all the time. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced the federal government will put more than $1.5 billion into funding for alternative energy technologies. That’s great for...
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Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist and communications instructor based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He is a trustee on the Global Foundation for Agricultural Journalism and an associate editor (communications) for the Journal of Agromedicine. Previously, Owen was president of the International Forum for Agricultural Journalists, an agricultural communications faculty member at the University of Illinois, and research communications director at the University of Guelph. His programs and research papers have been recognized through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence and the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation.