Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, a new group designed to connect consumers to farmers across the province, has announced its first board of directors. "We're so pleased to have a slate of directors on board who represent the different stakeholders involved," says Adele Buettner, executive director of FFC SK. "Not only will farmers and ranchers... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
In Alberta, regulations require premises identification (PID) became law under the Animal Health Act on January 1, 2009. It is thus mandatory for livestock and poultry to be associated with a PID account. It’s part of a full traceability system aimed at improving disease and emergency response. Related: Alberta Beef Producers Proposes an Additional, Non-Refundable... Read More
Both national railways say they reject the findings of a coalition representing agricultural shippers in Western Canada. The Ag Transport Coalition, which includes producer groups and grain companies, has started publishing weekly reports on rail performance in an effort to increase transparency and accountability between shippers and railways. The most recent report included performance information... Read More
Remember seasoned sergeant Phil Esterhaus (actor Michael Conrad) in Hill St. Blues, who warmly but firmly reminded the squad “Let’s be careful out there!” as they filed out of his daily briefing? Well, the same applies to farming – it’s safer than police work, but it certainly has its hazards, not the least of which... Read More
There are signs the long-running dispute over U.S. mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) rules for meat is moving closer to resolution, as a Canadian delegation led by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz visited Washington, DC. this week. “COOL is on life support,” Ritz told reporters on a conference call on Thursday afternoon. In what was... Read More
Every year, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture calculates the date by when the average Canadian has earned enough income to pay for their annual grocery bill, and dubs the day “Food Freedom Day.” This year, Food Freedom Day occurs on Friday, February 6th — one day earlier than in 2014. With 2015 being the "International... Read More
As Bill C-18 — The Agricultural Growth Act — makes its way through the parliamentary process, questions linger around what the bill does and doesn’t mean for Canadian farmers. Will the changes to Canada’s Plant Breeders’ Rights act mean you can you still save seed? Will the adoption of UPOV ’91 make seed more expensive?... Read More
The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing $4 million annually over the next four years ($16 million total) to establish the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative. Targeted to the Lake Erie basin and the southeast shores of Lake Huron, the initiative is designed to "help farmers improve soil health and promote environmental stewardship." The... Read More
Ontario's premier, Kathleen Wynne, has named several individuals to the Agri-Food Growth Steering Committee. The group is tasked with providing advice and guidance on the road to pushing Ontario's agriculture and agri-food sector to "double its annual growth rate and create 120,000 new jobs by 2020." Included on the committee are: Deb Stark, Deputy Minister,... Read More
The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) has teamed up with FARMCo, a grain marketing consulting firm, to head up a large-scale project designed to “improve farmers’ ability to make well-informed marketing decisions and maximize the value of their crops.” The Crop Data and Price Reporting project will lead to the development of a web-based tool that... Read More