Research has been pivotal to advances in agri-food production globally, with few champions mightier than the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. But the promise of modern science, including agricultural research, is threatened by those who consider science an enemy, a frill, a waste of government money or an injustice imposed on the public.
Photo credit: thegrower.org
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I don’t like the stories going around about agriculture right now — especially the ones about farmers poisoning America. I suspect you don’t, either. But the reality is that political opportunists with antifarming agendas have turned up the jets on their rhetoric like never before.
Photo credit: Ontario Federation of Agriculture, ofa.on.ca
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Aaron Richardson was surprised and honored when his pastor asked him to bring a special guest to Sunday’s service: his tractor. The pastor planned to recognize the importance of agriculture to the rural community of Dunnville, Ontario, and believed that having Aaron’s tractor parked outside the South Cayuga Community Church would send a clear message to the congregation.
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Efforts to curb food waste are succeeding. A new report from Value Chain Management International (VCMI) shows that, compared to just five years ago, overall food waste in Canada has dropped by nearly 20 per cent. Despite these gains, though, the two biggest causes of avoidable food waste — excess inventory and date coding – are not easy to quell.
Photo credit: thegrower.org
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Gone are the days when men were the only ones who counted statistically as farmers.
Through the agricultural census, we’re seeing more women identify as farm owners or co-owners, a nod to the equal partner role they’ve long had on farms.
Photo credit: Angie Koch
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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.