The theme of this episode is “Agriculture Without Borders”, a world tour. Agriculture may be local, but the forces shaping farming today are increasingly global — from trade and climate pressures to food security, politics and consumer expectations.

In this Farm to Food episode, we bring together agricultural journalists from Canada, Ireland and Jordan for a global roundtable on what’s happening in their regions, the biggest challenges facing farmers across the globe, and what the coming months may hold for the agri-food sector worldwide. Thanks to the International Forum of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) for helping to make the connections.

Our guests in this episode:

Owen Roberts - Guelph, Ontario

Owen Roberts is an agricultural journalist and communications instructor based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. He is a trustee of the Global Foundation for Agricultural Journalism and an associate editor (communications) for the Journal of Agromedicine. Previously, Owen was president of the International Forum for Agricultural Journalists, an agricultural communications faculty member at the University of Illinois, and research communications director at the University of Guelph. His programs and research papers have been recognized through awards from the Journal of Applied Communications, the National Agri-Marketing Association, the Association for Communications Excellence and the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation.

Rachel Martin - Belfast, N. Ireland

Rachel is an agricultural journalist and Farming Editor at the Irish Examiner, writing for a national audience covering farming, agri-food, agri-technology and the environment, for both farming and non-farming audiences - bridging farm-level realities with the wider conversation. Alongside reporting, she leads and contributes to a number of international initiatives in agricultural journalism. Rachel is a past recipient of the Alltech / International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Young Leader in Agricultural Journalism award (2017), as well as the Caterpillar/IFAJ Ag-tech Reporting Award (2019) and the Irish Guild of Agricultural Journalists Climate Reporting Award (2022).

Farah Ahmed Atyyat - Amman, Jordan

Farah is a journalist at the Al-Ghad Daily Newspaper covering environmental, climate change and agricultural issues in Jordan and the Middle East-North Africa region for more than 19 Years. Previously she worked as a correspondent for a number of Arabic TV channels such as Kuwait and Oman TV. During her work, she has earned a numerous Arab and international awards for the journalistic excellence including The Qarib Journalism Award 2023, the 2023-Arab Media Excellence Award, organized by League of Arab States, and the 2022 Media Freedom Award, organized by the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ).

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Farm to Food podcast.

We’d like to thank our sponsors for helping bring this initiative to life: Desjardins, the Livestock Breeders’ Association and Quinn Farm in Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot for their promotional support.

We also wish to thank the Community Media Strategic Support Fund and the Government of Canada for their financial support for this project, as well as the Bourses d’initiatives en entrepreneuriat collectif for their contribution toward equipping the podcast studio.

This program is made possible thanks to the dedicated work of the volunteer directors on the board of Châteauguay Valley Community Information Services (CVCIS), a non-profit social enterprise with charitable status. We would love your support to help keep this podcast going.

Donations can be made at farmtofood.ca, and we can issue tax receipts for donations over $25.

Farm to Food Podcast Credits:

Hugh Maynard – Host

Jackie Rourke – Producer

Sarah Rennie – News Editor

Callan Forrester – Reporter

Stacey Pennington – Audio Production

Dianna Chycki, sales & marketing

…and of course, Farmer Phil — who’s farm-tastic!

In this episode of the Farm to Food podcast, we explore the essential role bees and pollinators play in agriculture across Quebec and why their future matters to farmers, food production, and biodiversity.

From honeybees working vast crop fields to native pollinators thriving in wild spaces, we look at how pollination supports everything from berries and apples to vegetables and seed production. We also examine the growing pressures facing bee populations, including climate change, habitat loss, parasites, disease, and pesticide exposure.

The episode dives into the ongoing debate around agricultural pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, and how farmers are balancing crop protection with pollinator health.

We also explore the unique challenges of beekeeping in rural Quebec: harsh winters, varroa mites, unpredictable weather, declining forage diversity, and the economics of maintaining healthy hives in a changing agricultural landscape.

Jackie Rourke visited with our own Farmer Phil Quinn at his farm in L’Île-Perrot , where they talked about his passion for bees and how he got started

Sarah Rennie speaks with:

- Greg Edwards, who runs an organic blueberry farm on Covey Hill in Havelock QC, about honeybees and native bees and the challenges bee keeping;

- Amélie Morin, a University of Laval researcher on bee nutrition and riparian strips.

- Sascha MacIntosh-Hobson, an agronomist, on the regulations around pesticides.

- Holly Dressel, author, writer/researcher for David Suzuki. Holly spoke about the impact that pesticides are having on bee populations, and how farmers continue to use pesticides.

Callan Forrester speaks with Brandon Borland, a Chateauguay Valley Regional High School teacher who is working with students on a project to teach students about raising bees.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Farm to Food podcast.

We’d like to thank our sponsors for helping bring this initiative to life: Desjardins, the Livestock Breeders’ Association and Quinn Farm in Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot for their promotional support.

We also wish to thank the Community Media Strategic Support Fund and the Government of Canada for their financial support for this project, as well as the Bourses d’initiatives en entrepreneuriat collectif for their contribution toward equipping the podcast studio.

This program is made possible thanks to the dedicated work of the volunteer directors on the board of Châteauguay Valley Community Information Services (CVCIS), a non-profit social enterprise with charitable status. We would love your support to help keep this podcast going.

Donations can be made at farmtofood.ca, and we can issue tax receipts for donations over $25.

Farm to Food Podcast Credits:

Hugh Maynard – Host

Jackie Rourke – Producer

Sarah Rennie – News Editor

Callan Forrester – Reporter

Stacey Pennington – Audio Production

Dianna Chycki, sales & marketing

…and of course, Farmer Phil — who’s farm-tastic!

In this episode of our Farm to Food podcast, we dig into the realities behind organic farming, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, consumer trust, the use of pesticides in organic production, and the labelling of organic products.

In This Episode

• What defines an organic farm in Canada
• The difference between conventional and organic pesticides
• Why some pesticides are still permitted in organic farming
• How CSA programs connect consumers directly with local farms
• The costs and challenges of organic certification
• Whether “organic” always means small-scale or local
• Consumer confusion around labels, marketing, and transparency
• The future of regenerative and sustainable agriculture

Hugh Maynard speaks with his neighbour, Steve Lalonde, about organic field crops and his transition to organic farming in 2000.

Sarah Rennie talks with Fred Thériault from the Réseau des fermiers-ères de famille / Family Farmers Network (RFF) about CSA programs and the role of the RFF.

Sarah also speaks with Jamie and Nora Quinn of La Terre Bleue about their farm and what it was like being one of the first CSA farms in the region.

She then speaks with Jess Elwell from the CSA farm Coop les Jardins de la Résistance about the importance of certification, the use of pesticides in organic farming, and organic labelling.

Callan Forrester wraps up the episode with conversations with consumers about if, when, and why they choose organic products.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Farm to Food podcast.

We’d like to thank our sponsors for helping bring this initiative to life: Desjardins, the Livestock Breeders’ Association and Quinn Farm in Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot for their promotional support.

We also wish to thank the Community Media Strategic Support Fund and the Government of Canada for their financial support for this project, as well as the Bourses d’initiatives en entrepreneuriat collectif for their contribution toward equipping the podcast studio.

This program is made possible thanks to the dedicated work of the volunteer directors on the board of Châteauguay Valley Community Information Services (CVCIS), a non-profit social enterprise with charitable status. We would love your support to help keep this podcast going.

Donations can be made at farmtofood.ca, and we can issue tax receipts for donations over $25.

Farm to Food Podcast Credits:

Hugh Maynard – Host

Jackie Rourke – Producer

Sarah Rennie – News Editor

Callan Forrester – Reporter

Stacey Pennington – Audio Production

Dianna Chycki, sales & marketing

…and of course, Farmer Phil — who’s farm-tastic!