It’s not often that the federal agriculture minister gets together in one room with opposing critics to talk about agriculture. Ahead of the 43rd election, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) held an agriculture leaders debate where the four main parties — the Conservative Party of Canada, Green Party, Liberal Party, and NDP — stand... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
While harvest delays and yield challenges might typically support a commodity's price in the markets, Canadian canola has a bigger issue – its large carryout. "It just hangs over like a wet blanket, and it's something we've known was coming, and yet it creates a whole market situation where things just really feel like a... Read More
Ontario Sheep Farmers (OSF) has appointed Dr. Deb Stark as its first-ever independent board advisor. The role is designed to strengthen the board's governance structure, address sector-wide issues, and expedite fair, just and equitable resolution of issues regarding board and/or member conduct, according to the organization. The addition of Stark to the role follows an... Read More
Canadians may not be optimistic about agri-food becoming a primary topic for the upcoming election, but they are thinking about some perhaps surprising agriculture and food-related issues. A survey of 1,524 Canadians, conducted Sept 9 by Angus Reid Global and Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab, looked to gauge Canadians' opinion on where they ranked agriculture... Read More
The Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) and Les Producteurs de bovins du Québec (PBQ) are calling on federal party leaders to include, as a first priority in the mandate of the Minister of Agriculture & Agri-Food, a beef cattle investment and assistance program to help farmers in Ontario and Quebec mitigate the harm of recent... Read More
When the corn, soybean, and wheat growers of Ontario chose to join forces over a decade ago, they named a Westerner, Barry Senft, as their CEO. Since then, Senft has led the newly-formed Grain Farmers of Ontario through collaboration, the addition of two other commodity groups, restrictive regulations, and a big push for public outreach.... Read More
Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr has put out a statement in regards to the government's talks with China over blocked canola exports. Earlier this year, China revoked the export license of a major Canadian canola company citing various pests were found in the product. Later, a second company was hit with the same... Read More
The Canadian Meat Council (CMC) is calling on the various government parties for action this upcoming election, as they feel they've been in the dark for upwards of three months. The CMC says China's temporary suspension on pork and beef exports is costing those in the industry close to $100 million. If it persists, the... Read More
Canada's relationship with China is complicated — it involves extradition, unlawful retribution arrests, non-tariff barriers, fake CFIA documents, and a spying telecom company. In the months since the recall of former Canadian ambassador to China John McCallum, the agriculture industry has been waiting very impatiently for a new ambassador. Agriculture's hope has been that a... Read More
Conservation Ontario has been handed a letter from the provincial government informing the authority to stick to its "core mandate" when administering and funding programs. The trouble is, it's unclear just what the core mandate includes or leaves out — and the lack of clarity is causing many to wonder how agriculture programs will factor... Read More