President Trump received his strongest warning to date from the U.S. agriculture sector on Wednesday after it was reported the White House was finalizing a plan to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement. After speaking with Prime Minister Trudeau and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto late Wednesday, the White House issued a statement... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Representatives from Alberta's crop commissions held a conference call with Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier and senior officials with Alberta's Agricultural Financial Services Corporation on Wednesday to discuss the need for intervention to help producers with the one million acres of 2016 crop still in the field. "Team Alberta" — the provincial canola, wheat, barley and... Read More
President Trump's attacks on Canadian dairy are short-sighted and don't reflect the reality of the Canada-U.S. dairy relationship, says former Canadian agriculture minister Gerry Ritz. "This is typical President Trump. It's all shock and awe, throw down the gauntlet and then really not have a lot of details that his assumptions are based on," he... Read More
Around the globe, agriculture and food systems produce about 2,850 calories per person per day. That’s enough to feed the world explains University of Guelph professor Evan Fraser, but unfortunately we still have 800 million people who are undernourished. Even more perplexing is the fact that we have 2 billion people who struggle with being... Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission has come out with a plan to cut its user fees by 24 percent as of August 1, 2017. In the April 22nd edition of Canada Gazette, the CGC proposed reducing the amount charged for its official inspection and weighing services by $0.44 per tonne or just under $10 million (from... Read More
Since the election of Donald Trump, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been under threat. Initially, the harsh words of walls, import tariffs, and immigration reform were directed squarely at Mexico. That all changed this week when president Trump "laid down the law" in an effort to make Canada quiver insecurely in its…Read More
Trade between the NAFTA nations has become mainstream news on a daily basis. Trade relations between Canada and the United States seems to be getting cooler as the battle over lumber, energy, and dairy heats up. The Canadian and American agriculture economies are very linked and, as highlighted by Kevin Grier in his March edition... Read More
We know that housing prices – regardless of whether you buy or rent — are out of sight, especially in Canada’s major cities, and in particular, Toronto, where housing prices have jumped more than 30 per cent in one year. As part of what’s called the Fair Housing Plan, announced Thursday, April 20, Ontario Premier... Read More
Canada's ambassador to the United States is rejecting President Donald Trump's assertion that Canadian dairy policies are to blame for challenges faced by U.S. dairy producers. The dispute over dairy trade policy has gained mainstream media attention after Trump accused Canada during a stop in Wisconsin on Tuesday of "a typical one-sided deal against the... Read More
The Alberta government has tabled legislation to once again give producer groups the option of making their check-offs non-refundable. Before 2009, the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act gave commissions the option of refundable or non-refundable service charges. Provincial beef, pork, lamb and potato commissions collected non-refundable check-offs until 2009, when the Ed Stelmach government changed... Read More