The Government of Alberta is making some resolutions for the new year. As of January 1, 2018, farm and ranch owners will have some new Employment Standards rules to abide by. The changes are part of Bill 17: The Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act, and will apply to farms and ranches that "employ waged, non-family... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
We are at a point in the NAFTA renegotiations where it is easy to be negative. Some insiders and experts believe it is only a matter of time before President Trump withdraws from the agreement. Whether that is to get to a bilateral deal or a better multi-lateral is still up for debate, but the... Read More
The Ontario Liberal government has had its share of challenges in 2017. For starters, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s approval rating sunk to the low teens as Ontarians continued to gnash their teeth in response to the government’s hydro power plan. And then there was the government’s plan to increase the provincial minimum wage to $15 by... Read More
The Canadian Transportation Agency says both CN Rail and CP Rail exceeded their maximum grain revenue entitlements during the 2016-17 crop year. CN's grain revenue of $808,213,784 was $5,773,741 above its volume-based entitlement of $802,440,043, while CP's revenue from grain of $725,457,448 was $1,078, 947 above its entitlement of $724,378,501. Both railways have 30 days... Read More
India has added two more pulses to the list of crops facing steep import tariffs into the country. The Indian government announced a 30 percent import duty on red lentils and chickpeas on Thursday, which takes effect immediately. It's expected product already on its way to India will be subject to the duties upon arrival.... Read More
The federal agriculture minister has named a panel of farmers, academics and industry experts to provide input as the federal and provincial governments review business risk management (BRM) programs for agriculture. Agriculture ministers from across the country committed to a year-long review of BRM programs in July. The review will not impact what the BRM... Read More
The European Commission published its decision to allow Canadian canola to have continued access to the EU biodiesel market this week. “This decision means continued access to an important market for Canadian canola,” says Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “The Canola Council has worked hard on this over the past... Read More
Where can Canadians find everything they need to know about farming all wrapped into a neat 60-page package? It's all in The Real Dirt on Farming. Farm & Food Care Ontario officially unveiled the newest version of its flagship public outreach publication last month. This new Real Dirt is the fourth edition since the project’s... Read More
Even though rural Canada voted Conservative, I personally had some hope for the Trudeau government. For me it was a case of giving them the benefit of the doubt on some of their campaign promises. The basis for much of this optimism was on the trade file and Trudeau's ability to connect Canada to Asia.... Read More
Canola is a "cool" crop in more ways than one, including how it can have a role in mitigating climate change. "From the point of view of global warming or climate change, canola is different from other crops that we grow commonly, and that is that it produces a lot of residue for every seed…Read More