Brian Alexander grows grass in Kansas for a living. Mike wanted to chat with him because many say he is farming regeneratively. We are hearing more and more about regenerative agriculture and many of us aren't sure what it means. In this episode Mike talks to Brian about what he does and why he does it. This will be the first of several episodes on regenerative farming to improve our understanding the term.

Food Focus is back after some technical issues and the recruitment of a new producer we will be posting regular episodes again. In this episode I speak with two researchers from the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph. We talk about how carbon taxes affect farmers and what the future of carbon credits for farmers might look like. Taxes are here now and credits or carbon markets are still emerging and we discuss some of those challenges.

Mike had a conversation with Hal Herzog as part of a seminar for the Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare at the University of Guelph. They talk about how we think about different animals differently, why it happens and what it means.

How does a small family run grocery store thrive in the era of big box grocery retail and ongoing consolidation? In this episode, Mike speaks with Jackie Fraser of Fraberts Fresh Foods about how they differentiate in the market by selling local and developing a relationship of trust with customers. They talk about the keys to success and some of the challenges a smaller player faces. They also talk about the Ontario Food Terminal - a lifeline of product for small grocers and restaurants.

This is the podcast version of my second YouTube discussion with experts on the dairy and palm issue. I visit with a dairy farmer (Andrew Campbell), a dairy nutritionist (Mike Steele), and a veterinarian (Stephen LeBlanc) about what is happening, what we need to understand better, and where we go from here. You can also see the video version of the discussion if you prefer that to a podcast (https://youtu.be/c_h7zsIpQXc).

Palm oil has gotten a lot of attention lately, particularly in the context of dairy feed. This video presents and discussion with three experts from the University of Guelph and highlights what palm oil is, why it is used in the food industry, why and how it is used in dairy nutrition and how it might be affecting milk and processed products. We originally posted this as a video on YouTube (https://youtu.be/vvaqBMfRY44) but I thought some people might prefer the podcast format.

Many of us take internet connectivity for granted. For some, however, in rural communities even simple things like streaming a Netflix program is frustratingly unpredictable. This affects not only leisure time but also critical economic and social functions. Running a business is impossible without good and affordable internet. We are learning more from home. We are bridging the health service access gap in rural and northern communities with tele-health services. In this episode Mike speaks with Helen Hambly from the University of Guelph about why broadband matters and what we should be doing to improve it.

This is the second conversation that Mike had with Chef Pam Fanjoy. The focus on Pam's culinary therapy program that provides both cooking skills and mental health and life skills support. She uses a kitchen as a context for an activity to help people relax and be somewhat distracted while dealing with broader issues.

This is the 50th episode of the Food Focus podcast. We're exited to hit this milestone and look forward to talking to many more people about a wide variety of issues related to food. This episode is the first half of Mike's conversation with Chef Pam Fanjoy. She talks about her food business (restaurant, meals to go, and more) before and after COVID and how her business reflects her values.

In this episode Mike talks to Ken McEwen about Canada's pork industry. The Canadian industry represents 6% of farm cash receipts and we export between 60 and 70% our our production. This is a profoundly important segment of our ag sector and many people don't have any idea of how it works. They talk about industry structure, strengths, challenges and opportunities.