By Christine Gelley Farming is truly risky business. Every moment of every day on the farm holds inherent risk. The main duties of the farm manager in any sector are to identify, evaluate, and mitigate risk. All the little steps of risk mitigation add up to make a big difference that we can’t always see, but can still save us … Read More

Aspire farms processes crickets into all-natural, sustainable, superfood ingredients By: Aly Lancione London, Ont. will soon be home to the world’s largest indoor cricket farm. Aspire Food Group, a global industry leader in the production of edible insects, will soon build a 100,000-square-foot plant that will bring bugs, as food, to the North American market. The new facility will be … Read More

“If you’re going to start with precision ag, get to a sensing system that’s telling you where you’re weak and where you’re strong.” By: Ryan Ridley With wheat seeding approaching in the fall, many farmers are looking for ways to improve their return on investment on this next crop. Farms.com spoke with Doug Wiegand, Regional Sales Lead at Precision Planting, … Read More

The Premier announced a plan to continue reopening the province while managing COVID-19 outbreaks among farm workers in Windsor-Essex By: Jackie Clark Premier Doug Ford is taking a novel approach to the handling of COVID-19 outbreaks on farms in Windsor-Essex while still allowing for reopening in much of the region. The cabinet will allow Windsor-Essex, except for Kingsville and Leamington, … Read More

Government investing $15 million into health and safety measures for farm operations The Government of Ontario is taking additional steps to better protect workers in the agri-food sector during the COVID-19 outbreak. The province is significantly expanding the Agri-food Workplace Protection Program and committing up to $15 million to enhance health and safety measures on farms and in food processing … Read More

Co-operation with local health units and vigilance with on-site safety measures are critical to prevent further spread of the virus among workers on farms By: Jackie Clark Despite guidelines put in place by Health Canada and local public health units, and efforts made by farmers and business owners, many migrant workers across the province of Ontario have contracted COVID-19. 18 … Read More

School and childcare closures present challenges, but also give kids the opportunity to help out more on the farm By Jackie Clark As part of the provincial government’s strategy to decrease the spread of COVID-19 throughout the province, public schools and large childcare centres are closed to students until at least May 4, and private schools and daycares until at least … Read More

By: Richard Gray Installing wireless sensors among crops and attaching ‘smart’ ear tags to livestock could help farmers produce more food with less impact on the environment. The bounty of food we can find on supermarket shelves across Europe is the result of knowledge accumulated over thousands of years by generations of farmers. But with the global human population likely … Read More

Federal and provincial agricultural and commodity organizations send a clear message that the aid announced falls short of what is needed to help the ag industry through COVID-19 By: Jackie Clarke Canadian and provincial producer and commodity groups have responded with messages of gratitude, but also disappointment, to the federal government’s $252-million package to help the ag industry through COVID-19 … Read More

By: Craig Klemmer Over the next several weeks, FCC Ag Economics will help you understand the rapidly evolving business environment due to COVID-19. We’re updating our 2020 Grains, Oilseeds, and Pulse Outlook to reflect changes in the operating environment. Profitability is expected to remain tight in 2020 for grain, oilseed and pulse producers. Price volatility has surged through the first three months … Read More