As Gary Larson once said, The Chickens are Restless. If you're not on Twitter, you likely haven't heard about a growing group of disgruntled farmers taking aim at Panera Bread Company's cheap shot at conventional agriculture. Cheap shot is perhaps being generous — an entire ad campaign has been built around fear mongering and misinformation,... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Have you heard that Monsanto has been driven out of doing business in Europe? Not so, says the company, though they are changing the business direction in that market. "People have said we are exiting the GMO business in Europe, but we don't really have a business," Jose Manuel Madero, Monsanto's president and managing director... Read More
Good reasons exist to better understand what sustainability means on the farm – and a lot of them have to do with consumers. It’s vital for farmers themselves to know how to best care for the land, water and air in which they produce food. No smoke and mirrors. Unsustainable practices mean trouble in the... Read More
Gerry Ritz was on hand at Richardson's Kelburn Farms, just south of Winnipeg, today to announce a federal government commitment of $15 million to the canola industry. This funding, through Growing Forward 2, will be leveraged to bump that total to more than $20 million, says Patti Miller, president of the Canola Council of Canada... Read More
A total of 28 research projects focused on expanding or improving barley's use as feed, food and malt will receive funding under a new Barley National Research Cluster, spearheaded by the Alberta Barley Commission. Newly re-appointed federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand last week to make the $8 million announcement. “This is a... Read More
Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his Conservative government's cabinet yesterday and, drum roll please...not much, if anything, will change for the agriculture industry. Gerry Ritz remains as Agriculture Minister and Ed Fast stays on as Minister of Trade. There are a few new names in the agriculture fold, as Maxime Bernier takes on the role... Read More
As everyone is hearing from the news this morning regarding the lawsuit against the US Government for the possible unconstitutional components of COOL, this is very much apart of a multi pronged attack against the legislation. Who better to talk to an hour after the launch of the legal battle than John Masswohl, Canadian Cattlemans... Read More
Eight major livestock lobby groups in the United States and Canada have decided to pursue legal action against the United States Government for its implementation of the new mandatory country of origin (COOL) legislation. The legal action was released this morning and it pits the producers and packers against the US government in a very... Read More
Many Canadian cattle people have been urging CCA and the Canadian cattle industry to try and focus more on developing other markets than just the United States. With issues like mandatory COOL in place in the Unites States, other trade partners are needed so that the Canadian beef industry is not just a one trick... Read More
With the recent flooding that’s plagued Alberta, cattle producers understandably have other things on their mind besides new technology. But at some point, when the situation settles down, they’ll find themselves in a delicate position – that is, heading for the front lines of science, promoting irradiation for beef. Irradiation would help kill nasty E-coli... Read More