The Ontario economy no longer drives on four wheels. That's the message Steve Peters, executive director of the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors (AOFP) has for a new Ontario government that will be elected on June 12. In this Ontario Election 2014 podcast, Peters and RealAgriculture.com's Bernard Tobin discuss the state of the Ontario food... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
In November 2013, CropLife Canada announced Ted Menzies, a long-time Alberta farmer and former Member of Parliament, was set to take the role of CEO and president of the organization on January 1, 2014. Menzies owned and operated a 5000-acre farm and was heavily involved in agricultural groups, including the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Grain... Read More
You are probably reading a lot right now about the challenges with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Sheila Pratt with the Edmonton Journal has been focused on the issue as it applies to allegedly reducing labor costs and the mistreatment of workers. Keep in mind that that the temporary foreign worker program is accessed by... Read More
Four years of micro-analysis in Uganda and Ethiopia led up to April's publication by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at London University: Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda (FTEPR) Final Report. The report, a detailed account of various plantations in both countries, suggests that perhaps "Fairtrade" coffee isn't so... Read More
Bill C-30, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, received Royal Assent yesterday, May 29, 2014. The bill was introduced into the House of Commons on March 27 as a means to address level of service issues in Canada's rail transportation system. The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act includes amendments to the Canada Transportation... Read More
You see them at election time, in particular -- politicians jockeying to get a photo op with a farmer, diving into a plate of homegrown food or trying to support agriculture in some other camera-friendly way, such as driving a tractor. Politicians should be a friend to agriculture every chance they get, not just at... Read More
The need to help farmers manage the increasing risks associated with farming is a key election issue for the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO). In this Ontario Election 2014 podcast, RealAgriculture.com's Bernard Tobin speaks with Henry Van Ankum, chair of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, about the organization's 'Recommendations for Smart Growth' election platform it... Read More
The weather and the provincial election campaign are heating up in Ontario. With just over two weeks to go before the vote, party leaders are looking to rural Ontario — and the agriculture and food sector — for votes to win power in Ontario's fractured and dysfunctional political landscape. Can Premier Kathleen Wynne relegate the... Read More
The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) announced today that it has filed a Level of Service Complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, contending that Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway did not fulfill their common carrier obligations for the movement of Western Canadian grains and oilseeds this crop year. “The breakdown of the Western... Read More
With incredible yields comes the incredible need for storage. Fortunately, plastics protect much of our agricultural commodities today, in North America — twine and net-wrap secure livestock forage and bags shelter grain and hay. But are we overvaluing these privileges? Are we willing to sacrifice the environment and our own health as balance to protecting... Read More