Ontario is proposing amendments to the Crop Insurance Act, 1996, that, if passed, would mean more types of agricultural products would be eligible for coverage by production insurance. Production insurance, a part of Ontario's business risk management programs, is designed to help farmers manage losses due to events like weather, pests and disease. The costs... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
An internal disagreement that created concerns about a possible crack in the foundation of Canada's supply management system for chicken appears to have been resolved with the signing of a new national agreement on quota allocation. Alberta withdrew from the national quota allocation program at the end of 2013, arguing the formula for distributing new... Read More
Several incredibly important and effective crop fungicides, including those that suppress fusarium in cereals, could be banned from use in the European Union soon. While this is an immediate concern for European farmers who could lose access to certain insecticide and fungicide classes, the ramifications for Canada could translate to over a billion dollars in... Read More
Bill C-18 — the proposed legislation that includes changes to plant breeders' rights — continues to move through Parliament, despite the New Democrats saying they'll vote against it. During the Report Stage in the House of Commons on Monday, Opposition Agriculture Critic Malcolm Allen introduced 51 motions to delete all 51 clauses of the bill... Read More
Ontario and Quebec ag ministers met recently to discuss opportunities to create an action plan for growing domestic and export markets in cooperation, including focusing on the SIAL international food trade show held annually in Toronto and Montreal. According to a department press release, Jeff Leal, Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and... Read More
So who’s going to buy CWB (formerly "the Canadian Wheat Board")? And where’s the money for new elevators coming from? Will they become "just another grain company"? How will farmers benefit? These are all questions I’ve heard farmers asking each other during intermissions at hockey rinks, at coffee shops and on Twitter over the last... Read More
Egg Farmers of Canada has announced a partnership with the University of Waterloo to establish a research chair in public policy. Bruce Muirhead, the university’s associate vice president, external research and professor in the school's history department, will fill the position, for which Egg Farmers is providing $110,000 per year for up to seven years.... Read More
A new group made up of several Ontario commodity groups marked the launch of Farm Action Now with an inaugural meeting held earlier this week. The "task force" of farm organizations, representing a broad-section of Ontario's agriculture sector, has been formed, organizers say, to evaluate the fate of Ontario agriculture in the face of looming... Read More
Believe it or not, there are several opportunities, over many months, to shape a bill that's presented in parliament. While, yes, hours of work are put into to drafting a bill that may become law, the parliamentary process allows for interested individuals or groups to have their say on what they want to see changed... Read More
Corn and soybean growers in Ontario know that neonicotinoid-containing seed treatments are under close scrutiny by the public and by the provincial government. When provincial department mandate letters were sent out in September, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne called for a "meaningful reduction" in neonic use by 2015. As the clock runs down to the end... Read More