Category: Ag Policy

The entire seed industry value chain in Canada — from breeders through to grain companies —is adjusting to new Plant Breeders' Rights legislation following the ratification of UPOV '91 standards last June. As Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, explains in the conversation below, the CPTA is working with all stakeholders... Read More

The ratio of workers to retirees in Canada has historically been around 5 to 1, however it's trending toward 2 to 1 in the next few decades. The implications this will have for government and the labour market was the topic of Andrew Coyne's talk at the Growing the Agri-Workforce Summit, as ag industry people... Read More

The federal government is finding ways to spend $19 billion more than promised during the election campaign last fall. Some of that money will be spent in agriculture-related areas. Finance Minister Bill Morneau's first budget, unveiled Tuesday, projects a $29.4 billion deficit in 2016-17 — well beyond the $10 billion deficit outlined by the Liberals... Read More

A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada Saskatoon recently saw a meeting of some of the most important minds in Canadian wheat research. A workshop was held that included public and private researchers from across Canada, farmers from coast to coast, and Canadian exporters. Our goal was to move forward on the... Read More

When it comes to global trade, there are numerous challenges organizations and industry representatives must face. First, they have to be able to deal with cross-cultural communications issues, and understanding their partner country, from how to properly greet someone, to what the product means to the country's people. Second, they have to be able to... Read More

There's a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, with President Obama running tight on time and the frontrunners in the race to replace him — Trump, Clinton, Sanders, Cruz — voicing their opposition to the proposed trade deal. Both the U.S. and Japan, due to the size of their economies, must be part... Read More

Ontario’s 2016 budget made many headlines last week – from free university tuition for low income families to a 4.3 cent climate-change-fighting gas tax, and even a lower-than-expected deficit. But what does it all mean for agriculture, farmers and rural Ontario? With some help from our RealAgriculture twitter followers, we peppered Ontario Agriculture, Food and... Read More

The administration of cash advances has become a competitive business following legislative changes to the federal government's cash advance program last year. With the passage of Bill C-18, each producer group that serves as an Advance Payments Program administrator (find a list here) can issue the short-term loans for all 45 crops and livestock types... Read More

Back in the winter of 2013-14 when Western Canada's grain industry was bogged down in a massive rail backlog, the upcoming review of the Canada Transportation Act was viewed as an opportunity to improve the way the rail system moves grain. The review process began in May of 2014 and the final report written by... Read More

Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier has agreed to work with a coalition of farm groups to improve farm and ranch safety in the province. The Alberta Agriculture Farm and Ranch Safety Coalition, or the "AgCoalition," was formed in response to Bill 6 — the Alberta government's new farm labour legislation. The group aims to provide... Read More