Premier's Award for Edamame grower Wednesday, June 8, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFWhen Jacob MacKellar was looking for a way to add value to his family’s 3,000 acre farm operation in Lambton County near Alvinston, he found an answer in the freezer section of the grocery aisle: frozen edamame.Edamame is a type of soybean that first became popular in Asia as a side dish or snack or as an ingredient in sweets or soups. It’s picked before it has a chance to harden and can be par-boiled then frozen to preserve its taste.“It seemed like an opportunity to replace imported products with Canadian products,” says MacKellar, 22. “The market’s not near as big as peas or regular green beans but it is one of the only growing markets in the frozen vegetable aisle.”MacKellar and his family were one of 10 regional winners of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence in southwestern Ontario recognized Monday in Strathroy. Others included Rush Creek Wines Ltd., Aylmer; Al McColl Farms, Plympton-Wyoming; Hog-Tied Farms Ltd., Thedford; Steve Vokes, Petrolia; Bloemen Dairy Farms Inc., Lucan; Junior and Karen Van Geffen, Strathroy; Predator Bird Services Inc. and London Dairy Farms Ltd., London; Hoenhorst Farms Ltd., Innerkip; and Salford Farm Machinery Ltd., Salford.The award program recognizes innovative ideas that take place within the agriculture industry. At the Monday awards ceremony, these ideas ranged from Predator Bird Services Inc. and London Dairy Farms Ltd use of trained hawks and falcons to “herd” pesky starlings into a humane trap to equipment like the Van Geffen’s giant, time-saving hay feeder and Salford’s residue tillage specialist.As for edamame, Jacob says the crop is still in the “experimental” stage. Frozen is the main market but the family is also considering the fresh market. They grew their first edamame crop last year. They did a pilot launch with Fiesta Farms in Toronto and will work with the retailer over the summer to develop packaging. “Next fall we’ll have our full launch with our large crop that we planted this spring,” Jacob says.Despite this spring’s bad weather, there have been no problems getting the crop into the ground, he says, explaining that the bean is three to four times the size of a regular soybean and because of its size needs to be planted in a lighter soil. BF Record corn prices projected for US farmers Dorchester cattle dealer gets $12,000 fine
Chinese Tariffs Are Squeezing Canadian Grain and Oilseeds Friday, March 14, 2025 By Aleah Harle, Farms.com Risk Management Intern On March 8, 2025, China announced steep retaliatory tariffs on $2.6 billion worth of Canadian agricultural products in response to Canada’s October tariffs of 100% on Chinese EVs, and 25% on steel, and aluminum. These newly... Read this article online
Canada proactively purchases 500,000 doses of a human vaccine against bird flu Friday, March 14, 2025 By Liam Nolan Canada’s agricultural industry continues to monitor the spread of Avian Influenza (AI). The H5N1 HPAI was first reported in Canada in December 2021, below is an update on recent developments. Avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to impact poultry farms... Read this article online
Farmer Planting Decisions for 2025 Taking Shape Thursday, March 13, 2025 As farmers across Canada prepare for the 2025 crop year, Statistics Canada says their planting decisions reflect a complex mix of factors including moisture conditions, crop rotation considerations, and market prices. Nationally, farmers are expected to plant more wheat, corn for... Read this article online
Grain Growers of Sounding the Alarm Over U.S. Tariffs Monday, March 10, 2025 Not surprisingly, the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is raising concerns over the United States' decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian grain and grain products, a move that could jeopardize the livelihoods of family-run grain farms and lead to higher food prices for American... Read this article online
International Women’s Day – Angela Cammaert Wednesday, March 5, 2025 As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Farms.com is asking women in ag about what they’d tell their younger selves about being a farmer, to give a piece of advice to young women entering the ag sector, and to highlight a woman in agriculture they consider a mentor or... Read this article online