Federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Marie-Claude Bibeau was on hand at St. Breslau, Ont., to announce a repayable interest-free loan of $10 million for Ontario pork processor Conestoga Meats. "Conestoga Meats and its farmer-owners are very appreciative of the interest-free loan that the Government of Canada is making to our business," says Arnold Drung,... Read More
Category: Agriculture Policy
Canada, and Western Canada specifically, has been incredibly successful at growing millions of acres of plant-based protein in the form of peas, chickpeas, and canola meal. With a few exceptions, nearly all processing of Canada's pulse crops happens outside of the country. Bill Greuel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada, has been tasked with changing that.... Read More
Ontario’s processing vegetable growers are expressing their disappointment over a recent provincial ruling concerning contracts for the 2020 processing tomato crop. The provincial agriculture department announced recently its intent to overhaul the regulated marketing system and move to a direct contracting model versus the current negotiation model between growers and processors. The Ontario Processing Vegetable... Read More
Spring has sprung in the cattle industry as ranchers focus on calving and feedyards spread manure. There are many moving parts right now for the beef industry including trade deals, consumer demand, and any ripple impacts on the protein complex due to African swine fever. On Thursday the USDA released its Cattle on Feed report... Read More
It's no surprise to many that African swine fever (ASF) was one of the main topics discussed at the National Pork Management conference. The event, held at Nashville, TN., brought together a variety of industry stakeholders including producers, packers, chief financial officers, safety directors, and more. As it just wrapped up, RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney caught... Read More
As the federal government rolled out the carbon tax April 1, farmers and rural Canadians were understandably irritated. Among the feedback we received was a question that struck me — why don't farmers get paid to store carbon in the soil? I was a little surprised, because, in at least one province, they do. Alberta... Read More
Should falling number and deoxynivalenol (DON) become official grain grading factors? The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) wants to know what you think. Right now, both are not official grading factors in the statutory Canadian grading system for any type of crop. According to a news release, DON and falling number have increasingly played a critical... Read More
Perhaps lost in the hustle and bustle of the USMCA trade dealings is the fact that Canada did retaliate against the U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs with tariffs of our own on over 40 grocery and food related items. The full brunt of those tariffs is likely just beginning to be felt at the consumer... Read More
Health Canada has completed its re-evaluations of the neonicotinoid pesticides clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam in relation to the insecticides' potential impact on bees and other pollinators. The final decision, announced today, reflects scientific assessment that shows "varying effects on bees and other pollinators" from exposure to each of these pesticides, Health Canada says. The department... Read More
Much of the recent media attention has been on Canada's Prime Minister and former Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould, SNC Lavalin, and China blocking Canadian canola. However, NAFTA 2.0 — or USMCA — that dominated the news loop for weeks on end might make headlines once again. On Monday, Canada's ambassador to the United States, David... Read More