New companies forming in the current economic environment are rare, but here's one: Plantform.It's a biotechnology enterprise, emerging after years of research that have established Guelph and Plantform's co-founder,...
Read MoreDecember's traditionally been the month most fresh food (other than root vegetables) came from the southern U.S., or beyond.For domestic produce, you could count the days until items such as crisp, crunchy apples turned...
Read MoreImagine you're a provincial cabinet minister. Despite your usual optimism, you're in the dumps lately about the ill-fated auto and manufacturing sector.Car, truck and widget companies aren't exactly lined up at your...
Read MoreA year ago, TD Canada Trust issued a report called Canadian Agriculture Begins a New Era. It was an optimistic forecast based significantly on the rise of crop prices, the demand for ethanol and growing markets such as organics,...
Read MoreJunk food and fall fairs always seem to go hand in hand for me. I'm no zealot, but normally I'm fairly careful about what I eat. That said, I line up at fall fairs for things I'd never dream of including in my...
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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.