The federal government introduced amendments to the Fisheries Act on Tuesday aimed at restoring "protections to all fish and fish habitats that were lost with changes that were made in 2012." "I am pleased we are introducing amendments to the Fisheries Act that will restore the protections for fish and fish habitat that were lost... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
by Greg Porozni, Alberta farmer and Cereals Canada director As part of the 2017 New Crop Missions, "Team Canadian Wheat" visited Canada’s top customers and provided them with technical data and support. Who are Canada’s top customers? Some of the answers, like Japan, will be no surprise to anyone, but many would not expect to... Read More
I wrote a column last week that caused quite a stir, as was the intention. My tongue-in-cheek title did what it was intended to do: it sparked conversation and some lively debate, but it also got some tempers flaring over the increased regulatory burden farmers not just endure, but must also pay for. Read Top... Read More
Having shared office space and administrative staff since 2013, the Alberta Wheat Commission and Alberta Barley Commission are moving ahead under shared management. "This is a next logical step in our relationship," explains Tom Steve, general manager of Alberta Wheat, and now, Alberta Barley. The move to shared management, which was announced at FarmTech in... Read More
If you've been attending agricultural and food conferences over the last decade you've likely heard countless references to "feed the 9 billion" or to double production by 2050 to meet the appetite of a growing global population. Is it time we revisited this oft-cited food prediction? Penn State University's Mitch Hunter thinks so. Hunter and... Read More
Since May 2015, when Alberta elected Rachel Notley and the NDP as its government, the province's farmers and ranchers have had some adjusting to do. Legislative changes, such as Bill 6, have not been without controversy, but we perhaps haven't seen the sweeping changes many feared. Still, farmers are dealing with depressed commodity markets and... Read More
Last week there were reasons for confusion on what direction the American dollar might take based on White House policy. Most of the confusion last week was driven by comments made by different members of the White House team. "It's interesting, it's almost like currency wars at the moment," says Matthew Pot of Grain Perspectives... Read More
Depending on where you live, fields have likely been frozen now for quite some time. Maybe they're even snow covered. Now is a great time to spread manure because that firm ground means you can travel and not create compaction, the storage is full, and, well, it'll work its way into the soil later...right? Well,... Read More
With the Canadian trade team agreeing to the Trans Pacific Partnership, there will be opportunities for the opposing parties to bring up issues with the deal. You can expect both the NDP and the Conservatives to use the TPP agreement as political leverage. The Conservatives, who were previously very critical of the Liberals for not... Read More
The Canadian organic production industry received confirmation today that the federal government will provide financial support for updating organic standards. Today in Guelph federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay annouced the Government of Canada's commitment to provide the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) the "necessary funds to cover costs associated with the 2020 Canadian Organic Standards... Read More