The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has come under fire this week for its apparent support of the Ontario government’s near-ban on neonicotinoid seed treatments for corn and soybean. Don McCabe, president of OFA, says that while the regulations are not perfect, the lobby organization is the only one “still at the table” with government,... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Ontario's government today unveiled the final version of the regulations governing the use of neonicotinoid-treated soybean and corn seeds. If you can hardly tell the difference from the proposed regulation launched late in 2014, you can be forgiven — the final regulation is only slightly tweaked from the original proposal. Ontario's Ministry of Environment of... Read More
Swiss-based Syngenta has rebuffed a second $45 billion purchase offer from U.S.-based Monsanto, calling it "unsolicited" and a "reputational risk." Initially, Syngenta cited worries over global regulatory approvals as one of the main reasons behind the first refused offer. And, though Monsanto saw "no legitimate basis for the regulatory concerns" outlined in Syngenta's refusal, the... Read More
How do you sell an industry full of potential? If you’re hoping to influence career choices, you have to be top of mind when high school students are contemplating opportunities. That’s the motivation behind Ontario’s Lisa Thompson’s private member’s motion, Growing Agri-food Jobs, first read at Queen’s Park in November, and introduced this week. Thompson,... Read More
I’ve often wondered what would happen if I moved my dairy farm to Toronto’s Yonge and Eglinton. I’d take some floor space out in a nearby building and then open the doors to let the cows come and go as the please. Free-range is all the rage, anyway. I wouldn’t feed them myself though, I’d... Read More
The Canadian government has taken another step toward following through on its two-year-old threat to retaliate against U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL) unless the meat labeling rules are repealed. Canada's trade and agriculture ministers — Ed Fast and Gerry Ritz — joined Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, and Enrique Martínez y Martínez,... Read More
Does farm size matter when it comes to managing interest rate hikes? It does, says Greg Pate, economic policy analyst with Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, but not in the way you may think. Bernard Tobin spoke with Pate at a recent half-day farm finance conference held at Guelph, Ont., to talk... Read More
If you’re keeping tabs on Ontario’s beef industry this Local Food Week, you’ve seen how a company’s profile can grow when it markets its brand effectively, promotes itself tirelessly, and stands on values instead of gimmicks. A prime example is VG Meats, which seems to be popping up everywhere. VG stands for Van Gronigen, a... Read More
CWB's commitment to new "bricks and mortar" continues to take shape as G3 Global Holdings announces its plan to examine the feasibility of a new elevator at the Port of Vancouver. "The G3 vision is to create a highly efficient coast-to-coast Canadian grain enterprise that provides stronger market access solutions for growers and delivers value... Read More
Two independent sources familiar with the workings of Ontario's legislature have confirmed that the impending regulations regarding access to neonicotinoid-treated corn and soybean seed will go to cabinet on Wednesday, June 3rd. This final version of the regulations designed by Ontario's Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) will take effect July 1. First announced... Read More