THE RURBAN FRINGE

Help Develop Canada’s Next Agricultural Policy

Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and provincial and territorial governments want to hear from Canadians and agriculture industry representatives to develop the next agricultural policy framework – Growing Forward 2.
Growing Forward 2 will build on the success of existing programs and leverage the ingenuity of farmers, processors and others in the sector to continue to generate economic [...]

Canada.com Featured Contributor: A Looming Agricultural Labour Crisis

In 2009, I posted on a looming crisis – that of a growing worker shortage in the agricultural industry.  Since that post, the issue remains a growing, albeit largely silent, concern.
Why should you care? 
Because agricultural employment is a major element underpinning our food system … if no-one at home is growing food in safe, regulated [...]

Betting on the Farm

In the March 21, 2011 publication of Maclean’s magazine, Sarah Elton’s article - Betting the farm – and winning - highlights how farmland, not farming, is providing new opportunities for investors.  Not everyone is exited.
From the article:
“Farmland is food land,” said Kevin Wipf, executive director of the National Farmers’ Union, which authored a report that condemns the trend.  “To have [...]

Farmers Markets Must Cater to the Consumer

Local food is cool.  It’s a trend seen everywhere these days … on TV, in newspapers, online.  Yet even with the expansion of many markets catering to food that is grown and produced locally, there are many more farmers markets who struggle to remain open.
Why?  Poor or no market management is typically one reason.  But perhaps [...]

Cattle-Powered Computers?

Cattle have been put to a variety of uses, but a new research paper suggests that they could be the key to powering the next wave of computer innovation. 
“While not immediately intuitive, the idea plays on two trends:  the building of computing centres in more rural locales, and dairy farmers’ efforts to deal with cattle [...]

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