Columns

In the time of 100-acre farms in Ontario, families usually kept a dog or two. Ours was no different.
I remember four. A faint remembrance of Underpants, a blonde lab perhaps, named by my older sisters for the look of its posterior as it shambled.....

So, what's the latest news these days?" Dave Winston asked as he scanned the menu at Mabel's Grill the other morning.
"Who gets to watch the news?" grunted George Mackenzie. "The wife's off on holidays these days and she ties up the TV most days...

Early on in my career as a human rights researcher and activist, I worked with individuals and organizations committed to helping Black South Africans end their country's notorious system of Apartheid. It never ceased to disappoint me how ...

As a June/July drought affected crops in southwestern Ontario, stress climbed over the potential decrease in bushels per acre. This year's crops may not break production records, but we know there will be food to feed our animals, pay our bills and...

As I write this in early July, I've just had several days staying indoors because of smoke from forest fires in northern Ontario and Quebec.
Being retired, I have the choice to avoid the smoke. Many farmers, not to mention contractors...

Humans are interesting creatures. As a farmer, I often think about those who came before me and marvel at what they achieved. If you have ever taken a mature tree down, removed every trace of it, and prepared the ground that once supported...

I've always held a fascination for India and while I've never been there, there have been other opportunities to learn. Over the years I've come into contact with a number of academics and activists from the subcontinent...

"I hear they're talking about another hot day today," said Molly Whiteside as she delivered the menus to the guys at Mabel's Grill the other morning.
"Yeah, I hear we've already had a stretch where ...

"I hear they're talking about another hot day today," said Molly Whiteside as she delivered the menus to the guys at Mabel's Grill the other morning.

Three days earlier, we were 21 strangers in a classroom at the University of Waterloo, attending a course on Peacemaking Circles. This morning we were in a human knot, a cluster of clasped hands, stepping ...

Travelling isn't without guilt, these days. One of the things I remember from COVID-19 was how the canals in Portugal had cleared to the point where locals could see fish in the water, something not possible ...

I had to kind of chuckle at myself this spring when I, an old farm boy who edited this farming publication for many years, went to the local co-op store and bought several bags of composted cattle manure for my garden.

What local creatures eat up to 600 insects per hour, act as pollinators, and have seen their populations decimated by "one of the most destructive wildlife diseases in recorded history"? If you guessed "bats" - you'd be right!

I've been following the neonicotinoid saga ever since a group of Ontario beekeepers decided more than a decade ago to take on both the pesticide industry and its partners within the Canadian government.

"Ah, yes, summertime," said Dave Winston, as he sat down at the table at Mabel's Grill on a recent morning. "I see by the parking lot the American tourists are already invading the country. Did you see out there was a car with a New York...

Time flies quickly, and so I had nearly forgotten about the case of Andrew Blake when our co-publication, The Citizen carried the story about the end of his legal case in a recent issue.
Blake, you may recall, was the driver of a Brussels ...

Change is one of the constants in life. For farmers, this may be even more so. No two years are ever the same -- weather, markets, world politics, technology, genetics, diseases, pests -- the list of changing aspects of the job is endless...

When I was a youngster, I remember playing "Cowboys and Indians" with a group of boys from our neighbourhood. I preferred being on the side of the Indians, perhaps due to a natural inclination for cheering for the underdog...

The breakfast session at Mabel's Grill was a little earlier than usual one sunny, warm day recently.
"I've got a lot of crop to get planted," explained Dave Winston who had the biggest cash crop acreage, as well as his busy pig barn.

I drove to the Chesapeake Bay in the first week of April and every field I saw across the Delmarva Peninsula through Maryland had a cover crop on it. Every. Last. One. I could barely believe....

It was so cozy, sitting there, being served coffee and biscotti in front of the woodstove. I could see birds flying around outside and two trays of seedlings were reaching up from the soil by an east window. It was interview time for a story on native ...

One of the problems facing our modern world is that too much of the media is controlled by the hands of people living in urban areas. As such, important issues are being shaped in ways that are in the short-term interest, but long-term disadvantage

The Federal Government's new Underused Housing Tax is something everyone needs to be aware of -- and a lot of us must take action on. The deadline to file is the end of April and failure to file carries big penalties. Make sure you talk...