Better Farming earns top journalism award Monday, May 26, 2008 by BETTER FARMING STAFF Robert Irwin, Don Stoneman and Mary Baxter’s article, “Faith in Arlan Galbraith: Ontario’s Pigeon King” won the competition’s magazine category. “We’re thrilled by the honour and pleased to see the agriculture beat highlighted,” says Better Farming’s managing editor Robert Irwin. “I thought it was interesting that of the five entries in our category, four had to do with agriculture or the environment.” Published in December, 2007, the article explored the practices of Pigeon King International, a Waterloo-based pigeon breeding business. The award was announced on Saturday at the association’s annual conference in Edmonton. Other winners included: Gary Dimmock and Greg McArthur (Ottawa Citizen and The Globe and Mail) open newspaper/wire service category and the Don McGillivray award; Heather Rivers and Elliot Ferguson (Woodstock Sentinel-Review), community newspaper category; David Ridgen (CBC), open television, greater than five minutes; Ioanna Roumeliotis and Melanie Glanz (CBC News – The National), open television less than five minutes; Maureen Matthews and Dave Redel (CBC Radio), open radio news/current affairs; Kevin Donovan, David Bruser, Andrew Bailey (The Toronto Star); CAJ/Marketwire computer-assisted reporting; Darryl Dyck (The Edmonton Sun), photojournalism; Jeff Heinrich (The Gazette), Faith and Spirituality; and Mary Gazze (Carleton University), student award of excellence. The Association is a national non-profit organization acting as a national voice for Canadian journalists from all media. The annual awards recognize the best in investigative journalism across the country. Published 10 times a year, Better Farming is Ontario’s largest circulation farm business publication. It is owned by AgMedia Inc. BF Industry worried new rules could affect availability of fertilizer Cash receipts up big time
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online