OPINION: Trade deal turns ugly Hollywood has trained us all to think in terms of good guy and bad guy. Batman good, Joker bad. We almost feel compelled to categorize every situation into her... Read more
OPINION: Record keeping is a persistent annoyance on the farm Last year was a horrible year. We bounced from one thing to another instead of taking our time, talking things out and doing it... Read more
The political economy of lettuce: Why Mexican lettuce outsells local lettuce and how big business controls markets Summertime is the time to enjoy fresh food at its finest. As the warm month... Read more
OPINION: Super El Nino anxiety pushes up grain prices But real weather impact will have final say I really don’t trust weather forecasts. After having spent the first 45 years of my life in... Read more
Shut up, shut it off, and listen James Pascual Farmers Forum Cheering at a sporting event can be fun. Talking loudly with friends can have its exhilarating moments. But most noise — the clan... Read more
OPINION: Predators are everywhere A sheep farmer covers the pros and cons of sheep farming while promising not to embellish I was talking to sheep farmer Tom Joad and told him I was g... Read more
OPINION: Our grandparents didn’t walk around with water bottles You have probably seen it on a television newscast. There’s a political announcement, a press conference, a briefing — somethi... Read more
OPINION: Goodbye democracy We live in discouraging times. Most Canadians don’t seem to realize that we have hit a terrible turning point from which we might not recover. We are in new... Read more
High-speed rail is a high-speed money sucker If you told me that the federal government was planning on spending $50,000 on a home refrigerator, I would be outraged. I understand the value o... Read more
OPINION: Want to grow your farm? Be a good manager As much I love farming, it’s a business first and foremost, and business takes good management: especially of your people Year... Read more
OPINION: She was the antithesis of the Jersey breed, she was Punch Drunk Bob was a slight 50-something Grenville County Jersey dairy farmer with a little too much attitude. He... Read more
After 50 years of cropping… The next generation retired me “Change is the law of life” said John F. Kennedy before an assassin’s bullet ended his short presidency and, indeed, his life... Read more
OPINION: So much s**t happens on a farm, why does the dairy board have to pile on with penalties? If there is one thing I have learnt over the years it is that s**t happens no matter what yo... Read more
My favourite: A mountaintop view of farmland as far as the eye can see For me, spectacular scenery is being on top of a mountain, or a high ridge, and looking down over a valley of flat agri... Read more
OPINION: The big, beautiful nothing burger The government of Canada last month announced it will introduce a national food security strategy, which sounds great. We’re told there will be mor... Read more
Bill C-34 will undermine privacy, parental rights… and be used to shut you up Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms Special to Farmers Forum Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act,... Read more
The Inconvenient Truth meets inconvenient facts 20 years ago, Al Gore produced a hyperbolic film that scared the English-speaking world Santiago Pascual-Meagher Farmers Forum This yea... Read more
It has been fascinating to watch the news headlines and read the market reports as analysts speculate about the potential for American soybean exports to China. It has made for a great deal... Read more
OPINION: Families-first is a Canada-first plan that would unleash prosperity Jobs, livelihoods and people’s futures are being threatened from so many directions. We read that a... Read more
The man they called Sunflower Harold Campbell was 88-years-old, completely bald and had a round head that looked a little off. It just didn’t look right, kind of like an off-centred mailbox... Read more
What to do with plastic wrap when the landfill won’t take it It is one of those memories that you don’t forget: the day our neighbour wrapped his harvested round bales of hay in white plasti... Read more
OPINION: Want a good weather forecast? Observe the sky — are old rhymes true or do they lie? It was in the middle of May, in the early 1970s, and a cold north wind blew day after day. I was... Read more
OPINION: A look back at 50 years of federal agriculture ministers A few days after a federal election campaign started some years ago, a farmer called me to chat about farming issues and pol... Read more
THE ROCK SHOP Where local quarry boys turn highland boulders into everything from bridges to kitchen counters More often than not, when you discover a gem of a business busy at work i... Read more
Ontario mostly grows soft red winter wheat The spring of 2026 has been a really interesting time in the wheat markets. We’ve seen sharp rallies in the Chicago futures markets and an interes... Read more
IS CANADA COOKED? Canada headed toward communism and youth should get out, constitutional expert says. The rest of us should pray, push back “Thou art a traitor: Off with his head!”... Read more
Chipping away at supply management with fake milk Most farmers producing supply-managed commodities (milk, poultry and eggs) in Canada thought that the passing of Bill C-202 on June 2... Read more
In case you haven’t noticed, we are not going back to the Canada you grew up in anytime soon. We might never go back. It’s not just that crazy is at the door or that unscrupulous politicians... Read more
What to do in mud season? Between hockey and planting, Carson discovered squirrel sniping Carson Elliot was a crop farmer from just outside Moose Creek who was as keen on hockey seaso... Read more
Avoid the big deceit, buy local Patrick Meagher Farmers Forum You’ve likely noticed that it’s hard to get through one day without hearing a string of lies. Allow me to qualify.... Read more
OPINION: In this messed up world prepare for shortages The world is messed up. Countries are re-aligning their partnerships, western leaders in predominately white and formerly Christ... Read more
What emergency? Court said the Emergencies Act was unlawful during Freedom Convoy but Carney wants Supreme Court to overturn that and uphold Trudeau’s unlawful crackdown Nelson Zandbe... Read more
A bullet-train line to rip through Eastern Ontario and make life more inconvenient for everyone Nelson Zandbergen Farmers Forum assistant editor Remember when a cocksure Justin Trudeau, enra... Read more
Patrick Meagher Farmers Forum For those who remember Sunday school or who received even a rudimentary Christian upbringing you will remember that God created the universe and the ange... Read more
Living one of the best lives on Earth The Wheelers have launched into ‘crazy’ upgrades adding maple sap silos and high-efficiency measures to their tradition of syrup wizardry Vernon Wheeler... Read more
OPINION: Watch how planting intentions move markets: And pick your price to pull the trigger March is the month when things finally start to get interesting in the grain futures marke... Read more
OPINION: If consumers want protein, they will get protein If you have noticed shoppers pouring over food labels in the stories and assumed they were still checking for Canadian- vs. American... Read more
Alberta independence is the way to go James Pascual Farmers Forum Like it or not, Alberta is going to vote on whether or not to separate from Canada. Thousands of people have already lined u... Read more
OPINION: A misunderstanding about a BULL, a PIE and a GIRL Dave Power was a 25-year-old crop farmer of the sort that Eastern Ontario breeds like mosquitoes in a stagnant pond — sturdy, solit... Read more
How Maynard stays healthy He wears a hat, drinks lots of water, eats citrus fruit, takes cod liver oil, works outside every day and eats pickled herring I do everything I can to stay healthy... Read more
OPINION: It was right to cull the ostriches They became the centre of a fight with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for the past year in regards to euthanizing ostriches due to Avi... Read more
DUMPING NET-ZERO: Net-zero carbon worshippers overplayed their hands and voters howled. Now countries around the world are retreating from the high cost of going green James Pascual F... Read more
Ottawa’s use of Emergencies Act to crush Freedom Convoy in 2022 was illegal …and here’s why, lawyer argues John Carpay The Federal Court of Appeal has thankfully affirmed a powerful 20... Read more
Say no to an unnecessary and expensive goat marketing board RE: January 2026 edition “Goat Vote” on goat producers voting this year on whether or not to form a marketing board. When you stat... Read more
Who is running Canada? Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was in China last month where in his own words he was repositioning Canada for the “New World Order.” What does that even mean? Car... Read more
Canada approved a Bovaer feed additive for cattle in 2024 but now needs to monitor closely the chemical mixture before anyone feeds it to beef or dairy cows. Bovaer contains 3-nitrooxypropan... Read more
OPINION: Our Christmas — Home-cooked everything, almost, and no opening gifts until after the cows are milked If anyone were to ask our four children if Christmas on the farm was diffe... Read more
OPINION: The prodigal son Let me tell you about young Caleb McAllister, third and least essential son of Angus McAllister who farms 400 acres of the rockiest, stingiest clay in Renfrew Count... Read more
OPINION: Classic rock work day Funny how hard work in a loud space seems to require hard rock cranked up As the demands of vegetable growing die down, this business of building a hous... Read more
KELL: What’s fuelling wheat price? War and bad weather
If you can’t make a profit a $7 per bushel, consider planting fewer wheat acres September is a really important time to take stock of the wheat market. As harvest wraps up and the industry... Read more