Come rain or shine or snow, October is Ag. Month As many of you may be aware, October celebrates agriculture month in Saskatchewan. For us Saskatchewanians, it shouldn’t be hard to see why our government would dedicate a whole month to celebrating one industry. Agriculture and land was the original …
Why growing farm sizes are normal Frequently when I tell someone I’ve just met that I’m an agricultural economist, the conversation almost always involves some version of ‘aren’t big farms bad?’ My answer is usually a sigh and a ‘No’. But why do people ask this question about farm size? …
The need for organ transplants is growing at a rate that needs to be urgently addressed In 2016, 18 of every 100,000 Canadians needed an organ transplant. Of these 6,700 individuals, 260 died waiting for transplants, 409 withdrew from the list, 3,135 went into 2017 awaiting a transplant and 2,903 …
Food has historically brought us together, but will 3D food printing cause us to lose those connections? The development of 3D (three-dimensional) printer technology has led to some spectacular things from customized tools to cars. The process of printing layer on top of layers has turned regular 2D paper printers …
Will disease devastate spud production? The ease of growing and storing potatoes allowed it to spread around the world and onto our cultural menu. The delicious spud, McDonald’s #1 selling items are their French fries (and Big Mac, together accounted for 75% of worldwide sales in 2007), reached European cuisine …
We forgot to ask a staple crop how it was doing, and now we have damage control to do! Are you familiar with Cassava? You may know cassava as yuca, manioc, mandioca, and you may have eaten it if you’re a tapioca fan (YUM!) or have ever tried a bubble …
400 new micro-breweries are started every year in North America What’s in a beer? Behind every beer, there’s a great story of what it’s taken to get the product to you. Like many of our favourite foods and beverages, there’s a lot of hard work and time that goes into …
Mary, Mary, on the Prairie, How does your garden grow? With pesky weeds and heirloom seeds, Each row eaten by a white tail doe. It doesn’t matter what type of garden you sow, whether you use organic seeds or use fertilizers and chemicals, as long as it makes you happy! …
Canadian’s newest beef with chain restaurants is nuts![shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”15180628″][printfriendly]When Earl’s Restaurant chain announced they were moving to use humane certified beef and A&W advertised their use of hormone-free beef, many of us were highly critical over the sourcing of non-Canadian beef. Their marketing suggested that these ‘alternative’ means of …
The banana industry is facing the threat of disease which could dramatically impact production. Even with bananas being highly susceptible to disease, how important is a threat to the banana industry to consumers? What’s at stake? Bananas have been cultivated for millenniums, dating back to 8,000 BC. Since this time, …
