Do you know the most likely way your farmland loses nitrogen? (Now would be a great time to review all the ways N evades being used by the plant. Check out the image in this post). Why does this matter? For one, putting down fertilizer that's simply lost to the water or air is just... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
How did the bees do this spring planting season? Very well, says Tracey Baute, field crop entomologist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Likely attributed to several factors — a late planting season being one of them — Baute and her colleagues have kept a close eye on the Ontario bee... Read More
Environmental Defence and Freshwater Future Canada released a four-point action plan this week entitled Clean, Not Green: Tackling Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes. The plan comes in the wake of recent, serious algal blooms in the Great Lakes (specifically Lake Erie) and looks to improve agricultural practices, city planning, education and policy around maintaing... Read More
Cereals Canada, the newly-formed, industry-led cereals group, recently released its inaugural strategic planning document. The plan, available here as a PDF, sets out the vision and mission for the organization and defines a path forward for "sustainable profitability for the entire value chain." From opportunities and market development, to threats and competition, the 13-page document... Read More
Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz and member of parliament Scott Armstrong were in Truro, Nova Scotia, today to announce an investment of $8 million for the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) to lead an organic science cluster aimed at helping "the sector respond to market demand and capture new opportunities," according to a press release. Two... Read More
I’ve got to give her credit — Trish Sahlstrom, a vice-president of A&W, recently walked into a room of beef farmers in Saskatchewan to talk up her company's ‘Better Beef’ campaign on beef produced without hormones. It’s a good niche to sell beef, but as I’ve said before, framing it as ‘Better Beef’ is where... Read More
The Russian government announced a ban on food imports from Canada, the United States, the European Union, Australia and Norway this week. The declaration follows increasing sanctions imposed on Russia by these countries. “In the wake of continued aggression by Russia, which includes the ongoing supply of logistical support and weapons systems to agents of... Read More
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced details of Bill C-30, the "Fair Rail for Grain Farmers" Act today, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The measures, announced on this first day of the new crop year, include some which are hoped to improve the accountability for grain companies in contracts with an aim to... Read More
Earlier this week, the Canadian Grain Commission informed its licensees and producer groups that it had ended negotiations with Atradius Credit Insurance NV to develop a Master Insurance Policy Agreement. A letter sent to licensees, dated July 29, 2014, says, "The CGC has determined that the proposal for an insurance based producer payment protection model... Read More
The federal government can do something to help Ontario's $900-million mushroom sector — that is, extend or change the temporary foreign worker program. Such a change might help other agri-food sectors too and give new skilled Canadians a productive place in our society. The agri-food sector's struggle with labour is widely known. Canadians like to... Read More