Pictured above:听Greenhouse production of sunflower microgreens in biodegradable containers.
By David Wees, agr., Faculty Lecturer, Farm Management & Technology Program and Dept. of Plant Science, FAES
Ah, spring: that time of year when farmers and gardeners can鈥檛 wait to plant. Even apartment dwellers want to see some green, but with most of the world鈥檚 population now living in urban areas, space to grow may be limited.
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
Maison Riviera has abandoned the glass containers that have made its name since their arrival on the market in 2015 in favor of plastic.听Fans of Riviera yogurt who have lids sold separately by the company to give a second life to the little glass pots will still be able to use them, however, since the new plastic containers, arriving in the dairy aisle at the end of August, are made in the same format.
From bad weather to global conflicts, and even the breakdown of supply chains, food prices are subject to unpredictable variations.
Here's a look at what's been shaking up the food market in recent years.
When it comes to valuable outside-the-classroom learning experiences, a competition attended by a team of students from 苹果淫院鈥檚 Macdonald Campus ticked all the boxes.听
Four students in the听Farm Management and Technology (FMT) program听travelled to California in early April for the 2024 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge.
CBC News interviewed听agronomist and economist听Pascal Th茅riault, 苹果淫院 Farm Management and Technology Program Director, about recent protests by Quebec farmers asking for more government aid as they face听rising costs of business and financial hardship.
"There's a need to actually start re-thinking programs to be able to better accommodate for the future over the long run,"听Th茅riault told journalists.
Student engagement was high at the Future of Food Conference in Ottawa, as youth turned out to hear panellists and keynote speeches by stakeholders from across the agriculture value chain.
Several student groups from Queen鈥檚, 苹果淫院 and the University of Ottawa heard about sustainability, innovation and politics in agriculture at the February event.
苹果淫院 Farm Management and Technology student Aidan Velthuis, who grew up on a dairy farm south of Ottawa, attended the conference.
苹果淫院 Farm Management and Technology Program Director听Pascal Th茅riault听spoke to Radio-Canada's听Le Caf茅 Show about what regenerative agriculture is, how it can improve water retention in the soil鈥攁n increasingly important consideration as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of drought in the prairies, and its role in carbon capture.
Rising costs of cocoa due to drought and disease affecting crop yields is听proof of how global warming is hitting our pocketbooks, agronomist and economist听Pascal Th茅riault, 苹果淫院 Farm Management and Technology Program Director, .
The food system "relies on stability, and what climate change does is it creates situations where nothing is stable," he said.
Large retailers are reducing their formats to cut production costs in a period of high food inflation.
Shrinkflation is not sparing the private labels that consumers love to save money on, . Already in the spotlight for their record profits, Canada's major food retailers are in turn reducing the formats of their new products.
With its burps and farts, a dairy cow emits as much methane every year as a car driven 20,000 kilometers. Ottawa has just authorized the marketing of a feed additive that could transform the fight against global warming on the farm. 3-NOP could reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by an average of 30%, and from beef cattle by an average of 45%.
Methane is formed in cows' rumen鈥攖he front compartment of their stomach鈥攄uring digestion.
The Ottawa Valley Farm Show, a cornerstone event for the agricultural industry, not only celebrates the achievements of local farmers but also showcases the latest agricultural products and technologies essential for sustaining industry growth.
Caitlin Allen, a recent graduate of 苹果淫院's Farm Management and Technology Program, aspires to one day own a dairy farm, but knows that passion and hard work are just part of the puzzle. Innovation is crucial.
Although bananas are not immune to price spikes, as seen recently due to poor harvests, the desire of retailers to keep them affordable and an efficient production chain听largely explain why the popular fruit remains among the most accessible in the supermarket year round, agronomist and economist Pascal Th茅riault, 苹果淫院 Farm Management and Technology Program Director, told La Presse.
A group of Montrealers, upon seeing a huge truck filled with unsold food from grocery stores each week in their neighbourhood, are raising the alarm about the extent of food waste.
On Canada's Agriculture Day on February 13, year 2 and 3 students in 苹果淫院's Farm Management and Technology (FMT) program attended the Future of Food conference in Ottawa, thanks to sponsors Farm Credit Canada and CropLife Canada. This one-day event features speakers and industry leaders in Canadian agriculture and food discussing innovation and how Canada can shape the food industry.
