Millennials yearn for careers with purpose.  Farming, an incredibly rewarding calling, certainly fits the bill!  But Millennials are also a generation with crushing debt anxiety, a need for social connection, and a fondness for instant gratification.  Farming, on the other hand, is a career path of significant barriers to entry, social challenges, and delayed reward.  As fewer and fewer young people enter the ag/hort sector, the question of how to attract the next generation of food producers becomes more and more pressing.  In today’s blog post, we’ll examine the challenges facing young potential entrants, and add to the discussion of how to foster the next generation of growers.

Food loss leaches $31B out of the Canadian food industry alone every year and constitutes a huge global sustainability problem.  In the fruit and vegetable industry, between 20-40% of fruit and vegetables gets rejected for cosmetic reasons.

Today we look at how growers use a variety of means - from operations management, to software, to NASA technology - to reduce food loss and make the most of their lower-grade produce.

One of the biggest issues plaguing the food industry today is food fraud, defined by the CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) as the “the misrepresentation or adulteration of a product for economic gain”.  Far from an honest labelling mistake, those who commit food fraud do so to take advantage of the reputation of quality created by hard-working food producers, and profit off the deception of consumers.

If you're reading this, you're probably already aware of all the benefits a quality crop management software system can bring to your farm.  Now, how do you choose the best platform for you and your operation?  In today’s blog post we’re going to look at several important factors to look out for while making your decision.