Food Farm Talk

Ralph Martin’s book is an evocative mix of science, philosophy, memoir, reflection and manifesto for change. And food and farming tie it all together. Food security is certainly a focus, but the book ranges far beyond a narrow view of that phrase. Ralph is a retired professor of plant agriculture at Guelph with an emphasis on organic agriculture and forage crops. The book promo says the following....

Agriculture played an important role in colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Today it could help build prosperity and reconciliation. We hear from Chief Cadmus Delorme on the history of agriculture and colonialism as it is expressed on Cowessess First Nation, Treaty 4 in Saskatchewan. In this episode, Chief Delorme traces the history of his First Nation from before European con...

Emily Duncan talks about the quality and safety of the food we eat with Dr. Maria Corradini of the Arrell Food Inst itute at the University of Guelph. Maria discusses her research in food processing and value addition. The discussion highlights the role of food processing in improving the quality, safety and life of food. It emphasizes the need for consumers to appreciate the central role of proce...

New Climate Programs for Canadian Farmers – with Brent Preston. Canada now has new programs aimed at helping farmers adopt practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The new federal climate plan released in December 2020 and Budget 2021 made major commitments for funding agriculture climate programs. But are these programs well designed and will they actually help farmers change practices?...

What a year 2021 was in agriculture and food! Emily, Abdul and Paul get together to review some highlights of events in agriculture and food, from global to local. The UN Food Systems Summit made its mark. Extreme weather and climate change made their impact. Flooding in British Columbia and drought throughout western Canada and northwest Ontario prompted Government assistance to affected farmers....

Agriculture played an important role in colonialism and today it can hopefully help build reconciliation. We explore how First Nations can pursue prosperity through business development in agriculture and agri-business with Thomas Benjoe, President/CEO of FHQ Developments in Saskatchewan, chair of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce and 2021 Report on Business Changemaker. Thomas and FHQ held a v...

Soil health and conservation is a hot topic in Canadian agriculture. The Soil Conservation Council of Canada is the only national organization working on soil conservation and Jim Totarchuk, Executive Director of the council, tells us about the council and its work. In November 2021, the council held their virtual Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2021 with the theme “Healthy Soil – Healthy Planet”....

In this episode, we speak to Katherine Eckert , a Ph. D. student and Arrell Food Scholar at the University of Guelph. Katherine discusses working with the Guelph Family Health Study and the creation of the new "Plant-Based Proteins: Recipes Made Easy-Peasy" . We also discuss Katherine's journey to health and nutrition, Ph. D. research, and the conversations around plant-based diets. 

Soil health and conservation is a hot topic in Canadian agriculture. The Soil Conservation Council of Canada is the only national organization working on soil conservation and Jim Totarchuk, Executive Director of the council, tells us about the council and its work. In November 2021, the council held their virtual Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2021 with the theme “Healthy Soil – Healthy Planet”....

What a year 2021 was in agriculture and food! Emily, Abdul and Paul get together to review some highlights of events in agriculture and food, from global to local. The UN Food Systems Summit made its mark. Extreme weather and climate change made their impact. Flooding in British Columbia and drought throughout western Canada and northwest Ontario prompted Government assistance to affected farmers....

Agriculture played an important role in colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. Today it could help build prosperity and reconciliation. We hear from Chief Cadmus Delorme on the history of agriculture and colonialism as it is expressed on Cowessess First Nation, Treaty 4 in Saskatchewan. In this episode, Chief Delorme traces the history of his First Nation from before European con...

Indigenous Agricultural Innovation with Thomas Benjoe - Agriculture played an important role in colonialism and today it can hopefully help build reconciliation. We explore how First Nations can pursue prosperity through business development in agriculture and agri-business with Thomas Benjoe, President/CEO of FHQ Developments in Saskatchewan, chair of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, and 202...

Canada now has new programs aimed at helping farmers adopt practices to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The new federal climate plan released in December 2020 and Budget 2021 made major commitments for funding agriculture climate programs. But are these programs well designed and will they actually help farmers change practices? We explore this topic with Brent Preston of Farmers for Climate...

In this episode, the excellent and insightful agri-food power panel discussion continues on the topics of markets, sustainability and incentives. Mel Luymes chairs the panel of very knowledgeable people in Ontario agriculture, Crystal Mackay, an agriculture communicator, Dan Petker, a Norfolk farmer, Cher Mereweather, president of Provision Coalition, a food sustainability partnership, and Alfons...

Listen to a power panel from Ontario agriculture discuss balancing efficiency and resilience in agriculture. Mel Luymes chairs the panel of Crystal Mackay (Loft32), Dan Petker (Norfolk farmer), Dr. Alfons Weersink (University of Guelph), and Cher Mereweather (Provision Coalition) that unpacks what these ideas from Roger Martin mean for the agri-food industry. "When More Is Not Better", thoughts fr...

Roger Martin, the world’s #1 management thinker, continues his conversation with Mel Luymes (Principal, Headlands Ag-Enviro) on the perils of obsessively pursuing efficiency in agriculture, and how agriculture can become more resilient. "When More Is Not Better", thoughts from Roger L. Martin, on farm resilience, presented at the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference on February 24, 2021....

"When More Isn’t Better", thoughts from the world’s #1 management thinker, Roger L. Martin, on farm resilience, presented at the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference on February 24, 2021. Roger Martin is professor emeritus and former Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He grew up in Wallenstein, Ontario where his family was active with an agri-business i...

The Agriculture Carbon Alliance was recently launched and Keith Currie talks about the Alliance membership and purpose and the federal climate plan. Keith is the Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, a member of the Alliance, a Simcoe county farmer and past president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. The new federal climate plan has many climate-related proposals and fu...

Emily, Abdul and Paul roundup some of the hot topics in agri-food in the last six months. These include Quebec's new Sustainable Agriculture plan, Canada's new climate plan and agriculture, food price trends in 2021 and labour unrest in agriculture, especially India.  More information: https://www.quebec.ca/gouv/politiques-orientations/politique-bioalimentaire/agriculture-durable/ https://www...

Farmers for Climate Solutions' Director Karen Ross talks to Paul Smith about their report “A better future starts on the farm: Recommendations for recovery from COVID-19 in Canadian agriculture” and its five recommendations to support farmers recovering from the pandemic while helping them deal with the long-term effects of the climate crisis. Their lobbying efforts resulted in a key phrase added...

COVID-19 and Data Decisions after Disruptions - Part 2. Got data? That is a question of the day it seems.  In the midst of this pandemic our interest in data has never been great. Welcome to the panel discussion on data and decision making during the time of disruption. It's hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Jeff Wichtel, Dean of the Imperial Veterinary College...

Got data? That is a question of the day it seems.  In the midst of this pandemic our interest in data has never been great. Welcome to the panel discussion on data and decision making during the time of disruption. It's hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Jeff Wichtel, Dean of the Imperial Veterinary College chairs a panel of University of Guelph experts. Rozita D...

Here is Part 2 of the discussion on #COVID-19 social impacts on rural communities.  Philip Loring, Arrell Chair in Food Policy and Society at the University of Guelph, chairs a panel on the impact on rural communities. First panelist is Abdul-Raheem Abdulai, he's an Arrell scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography. Second is Dr. Ryan Gibson who's an Associate Professor in Regional E...

COVID-19 has had many social impacts on rural communities.  Philip Loring, Arrell Chair in Food Policy and Society at the University of Guelph, chairs a panel on the impact on rural communities. First panelist is Abdul-Raheem Abdulai, he's an Arrell scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography. Second is Dr. Ryan Gibson who's an Associate Professor and the Libro Professor in Regional E...

Fertilizer is fundamental to agriculture and key to feeding all us, but excess nitrogen and phosphorus have unintended effects on soil ecosystems, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. This episode explores how the 4R Nutrient Stewardship program brings together research, agronomy, environmental science, and education to help farmers plan fertilizer use to conserve the environment while gro...