Author: Owen Roberts

Healthy soils grow hardier pastures for this family

Farmers know that healthy soils grow hardier grasses that can feed cattle longer into the fall…and feeding grass is more economical that buying or producing hay for the animals. The Van Groningens, proprietors of VG Meats of Stoney Creek, say such production approaches help keep prices in check for consumers and buyers like the University of Guelph. U of G executive chef Vijay Nair uses VG Meats beef in a spicy beef chuck, coconut and curry leaves recipe inspired from his native Kerala.

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Making a list, checking it twice for the minister

Canadian federal agriculture and agri-food minister Marie-Claude Bibeau wants to talk about Canada’s first-ever food policy with agricultural media. The policy’s been in the works since public consultations were held in 2017, but we all know how much the world has changed since then. The question is “ will the policy help build a more competitive and sustainable agri-food for Canadians? Photo: highriveronline.com

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Food affordability is top of mind with Canadians

Food availability hasn’t been a problem for most Canadians, even during the first wave of the COVID-19 when many other essentials vanished from store shelves. But food affordability continues to be a challenge, especially for those now struggling on reduced wages. Canadians pay less for groceries than most other nations, and farmers aren’t making a bundle. Manufacturers need to share what they’re doing to try to keep food prices down. Image: favpng.com

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Ag in the Classroom goes virtual

AgScape, as Ag in the Classroom is called in Ontario, tripled its student reach in 2019, but still has more requests for lessons from teachers than it can fulfill. Moving on-line as they’ve done in 2020 will help, but there’s still far too many students who won’t get the chance to hear about the science behind this multi-billion industry in Ontario, the successful steps it’s taken toward environmental sustainability, and the tremendous range of skilled career opportunities it offers. Photo: agscape.ca

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Urban Cowboy

Raising awareness and promoting dialogue about current food and agriculture issues.

OWEN ROBERTS

Headshot of Owen Roberts

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.

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