There were celebratory handshakes and hugs among staff and farmers on the steering committee after the results of the Manitoba farm group amalgamation vote were announced last week at CropConnect. Among the crowd, standing nearby with a relieved grin on his face, was a farmer from southern Manitoba who led a public campaign to unite... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
National hog and poultry groups are welcoming proposed legislation aimed at mitigating animal health risks from trespassers on farms. Conservative shadow minister for agriculture and Foothills MP John Barlow introduced Bill C-205 on Tuesday. The private member's bill would make it an offence under the Health of Animals Act to enter, without lawful authority or... Read More
A Conservative Member of Parliament from southern Ontario tabled legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday that would remove the carbon tax from fuels used for drying grain and heating on farms. The private member's bill, which would amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, was introduced by Philip Lawrence, MP for Northumberland—Peterborough South.... Read More
Canada's current bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) status, as defined by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), is "controlled risk." Canada was eligible to apply to downgrade its risk status last summer; however, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it's on track to submit for "negligible risk" status by July of this year. "The U.S.... Read More
Five Manitoba farm groups have voted in favour of amalgamating into one entity known as the Manitoba Crop Alliance. Farmer members of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association (MCGA), Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA), National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC), Winter Cereals Manitoba, Inc. (WCMI), and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) passed a... Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) recently surprised many in the industry with its immediate withdrawal from the Grain Growers of Canada. While the exit itself bears dissecting, the underlying — and growing — discontent with the federal agriculture department requires just as much discussion. Markus Haerle is the chair of GFO and a grain... Read More
The federal agriculture minister isn't ruling out the introduction of additional measures aimed at softening the financial impact of the federal carbon tax on farmers across the country. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has repeatedly said she's looking for more data outlining how the carbon tax is affecting farm profitability. Depending on those numbers, she told reporters... Read More
Two projects aimed at reducing risk for exporters and improving the sustainability claim of Canadian grain are moving forward with announced federal funding of $1.2 million. The projects are headed up by the Canada Grains Council. More than $430,000 will be used to develop a pilot insurance product for grain exporters to address the risks... Read More
The China-U.S. mega trade deal promising big things for ag product sales has seen some of its momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak. "It makes things way more complicated," says Don Close, a senior analyst at RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness. "As soon as that agreement was signed, U.S. markets started to sell off, and have... Read More
News of the U.S./China trade deal has largely focused on China agreeing to purchase $80 billion in U.S. agricultural goods over the next two years, but there are other clauses in the text of the deal that have the potential for a large impact on American and Canadian beef producers. The deal also includes a... Read More