Agriculture and Food Systems: Threatened by Climate Change

May 28, 2025

Food systems are defined as the way food is produced, processed, distributed, and consumed¹, and they are essential to our daily lives. The complex logistics of these food systems allow us to put food on the table. Every piece of food you eat is grown, harvested, processed, shipped, sold, and purchased with each step executed by multiple hands.

Farming is Our Foundation

In Canada, the agricultural sector is the foundation of our food system. Farms, nurseries, and greenhouses work hard to produce food for Canadians, generating over $31.7 billion in Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP)². This sector, known as primary agriculture, employs 247,200 people² and grows millions of metric tons of produce³.

The food grown by these primary producers then sustains the rest of the system, such as processors, retailers, and foodservice providers³; in 2023, the whole agriculture and agri-food system employed 2.3 million people, provided 1 in 9 jobs in Canada, and generated $150.0 billion of Canada’s GDP³. Clearly, farming food matters!

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Video: Our Own On-Farm Research Is the Best Source - Managing White Mold in Northeast Nebraska

If you assumed Nebraska was too hot and dry for white mold to be a problem in soybeans, think again.

This week we're featuring Galen Samuelson, a farmer and dealer from Wakefield, Nebraska, who knows all too well how devastating white mold can be.

"We don't have it consistently every year, but with our temperature and humidity, it can hurt us quite bad," Samuelson says. Looking for alternatives, he explains, "What I like about Heads Up is that it's non-harmful to the beneficial fungal colonies in the soil." Galen has been using Heads Up for several years now, after first hearing about it through a small ad in a regional newspaper. Watch below to hear about his journey.

When asked to write about Samuelson Seed, Galen said the following:

"Samuelson Seed is a 4th-generation, family-based company. It started with my grandfather, and I'm now starting to pass the torch to my son, Caleb."

"In the early 1990s, I started working with a company whose focus was on plant and soil health before those benefits were widely known. I've continued to keep plant and soil health the main focus in our farming operation decisions."