Better Farming joins Farms.com family

Apr 20, 2016

Paul Nolan joins the Farms.com Team

Farms.com and Ag Media Inc. today announced that Farms.com has acquired a majority interest in Ag Media Inc., publishers of Better Farming Magazine.

The acquisition will complement Farms.com’s expanding portfolio of products and services for the agriculture and food industries.

Launched in 1999, Better Farming is the largest-circulation editorial publication serving Ontario’s commercial farmers. Ag Media Inc. also publishes Better Pork -- since 2000, the single magazine to reach all pork producers in Ontario. The company also produces a number of custom-publishing magazines, including OFA Today, OFA In Sight, and the official show guide for the International Plowing Match.

Farms.com also publishes a number of other periodicals, including Ag Buyer’s Guide, US Farmer magazine, and Benchmark magazine.

Farms.com’s network of online properties include the industry-leading Farms.com portal, AgCareers.com, CareersinFood.com, Agriville.com, AgSearch.com, USFarmer.com, and PigCHAMP, global swine software leader.

Ag Media Inc. will operate out of Farms.com’s Guelph office, where publisher and editorial director Paul Nolan can be reached at 1-888-248-4893, ext. 202.

“Our readers and our advertisers will see the benefits very soon,” said Nolan. “Our farm audience can now access a more thorough and rich mix of information and insight. And our advertising clients will immediately get the integration and extension they want -- quality connections in print, online, video and events.”

Nolan has been Better Farming publisher for over 15 years and said the team “will continue bringing strong, relevant stories to the commercial farmers of Ontario” both in the magazine and on BetterFarming.com.

“Ontario Federation of Agriculture members see Better Farming as a key part of their farm businesses. OFA is proud of its partnership with Ag Media Inc. for the past 16 years, enabling OFA members to receive such a quality publication,” commented Neil Currie, OFA general manager.

Better Farming is distributed to all OFA members, ensuring a large and affluent readership for the award-winning magazine.

“We are pleased with this new partnership, because we appreciate the value that Farms.com brings to the farmers of Ontario and will provide to Better Farming,” said Currie.

“Better Farming and Better Pork magazines are well-respected publications that make a deep connection with commercial farmers in Ontario,” said Farms.com president Graham Dyer. “The addition of these two print magazines to our existing online offerings, and our print publications, means that Farms.com can now provide advertisers with robust integrated solutions in Ontario that include banner ads, sponsored content, video, newsletters, and print magazines.

“From a Farmer perspective, Farms.com is always guided by providing information to farmers – ‘the top things a farmer should know today.’ These magazine additions will help us provide them with quick daily updates online through Farms.com, as well as more in-depth information in the magazines.”

Many of the Ag Media Inc. team members will be welcomed in the Farms.com Guelph office.

“As we have done with past acquisitions, our intention is to strengthen the existing team and make enhancements to the magazines as quickly as possible, without disrupting current publication deadlines,” said Dyer.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.