In the eyes of Ontario farmers, Premier Dalton McGuinty is waffling a bit on his commitment to biofuels. It's making them edgy, not to mention confused.Here's why. Since the early days of biofuel development, the premier...
Read MoreThe new "Growing Forward" provincial-federal program, created to give farmers and food processors more ways to advance the sector, is well poised to live up to its name.At $1.3 billion over five years —...
Read MoreSigns are everywhere that consumers want more local food. Besides Ontario recently putting money into a plan to support homegrown and buy-local initiatives, two...
Read MoreGuilt is a powerful tactic, but it's proven in the past to be ineffective for getting Ontarians to buy homegrown products.Sure, the province would be better off if consumers patronized Ontario farmers, manufacturers,...
Read MoreFarmers' markets weren't exactly teeming with seasonal bounty back in March, when the provincial government announced nearly $4 million in support for them as part of the provincial budget.But it's a different story...
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Owen Roberts is a faculty member in the Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications program at the University of Illinois. As an agricultural journalist, he is the past president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists and a lifetime achievement award recipient from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation. His programs and research papers have been recognized nationally and internationally through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence, and others.