The Globe and Mail has welcomed Kate Helmore in the newly created beat of agriculture and food policy reporter. She will initially work out of Vancouver, before locating to Toronto for a year starting in mid-January 2025.

One of her first stories, published December 15, was titled “Canadian fresh-produce growers get more financial protection under amended bankruptcy law.”  Her well-researched story included interviews with Marcus Janzen, president, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada; Quinton Woods, sales and operations manager, Gwillimdale Farms; Massimo Bergamini, executive director, Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada; Richard Lee, executive director, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and Sylvain Charlebois, director, Agri-Food Policy Lab, Dalhousie University. 

Helmore spent the past two summers as an ROB reporter in the Globe’s summer jobs program, building a reputation as a skilled, insightful and tenacious business reporter, often pursuing under-covered stories in the agriculture and food sector. Now, she returns to make this her full-time beat, filling an important and growing need in coverage of Canadian business and its role in the global economy.

“I’m looking to make The Globe the authoritative voice in Canada’s coverage of agriculture,” Helmore says. “I want Canadians to feel like they understand where the food they eat comes from, and I want them to be inspired, excited, skeptical and, above all, informed about this industry that – facing climate change – stands at a crossroads.”

Above all, she wants to show that “farming and food production is meaty stuff dripping with conflict, laden with curiosity and brimming with a number of odd characters.”

Helmore holds a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of British Columbia. She has reported for CBC, The Tyee, Canadian Geographic and Capital Daily. She has worked as an associate producer on CBC Radio’s Cross Country Checkup, and a chase producer for The Globe’s City Space podcast.

Source: Talking Biz News, December 4, 2024