The Ontario Government recently announced that they will be ending the relationship of horse racing and slot machines. Some free marketers are cheering the decision and others are weeping for the end of the horse racing business in Ontario. I spoke to several farmers this week and this is definitely a hot button issue. A... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
With rumors swirling that Viterra is potentially going to be sold to non-Canadian entity like Glencore or ADM, many Canadians are speculating that the Federal Government might intervene in the deal. This would be similar to the Potash Corp sale which was kibosh-ed by Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. If you... Read More
The Alberta Government has always held to the position that the Land Stewardship Act was created to protect Alberta's environment and allow for sustainable development to occur in the province. While everyone may agree that that is a noble goal, not everyone agrees with how the government is going about it. The Alberta Government maintains... Read More
The current beef-trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada is the best it's been in a long time. That's good. We do a lot of business with the U.S. and from a geographical perspective, there is a "convenience factor" that will always keep that relationship somewhat open no matter the issue. However, even with that... Read More
It's been a while since we heard anything on the Bill 36 front. In fact, the last big news regarding Alberta's Land Stewardship Act was that it was to be suspended pending a review by the government's property rights task force. Well, the review process is finished and it appears as if Premier Allison Redford's... Read More
Alot of conversation has been buzzing in the agriculture community, since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) put forward for suggested changes to its regulations on child labor in agriculture. The DOL is trying to make youth labor regulations in on-farm and non-farm employment more similar. The department’s goal is to improve safety conditions for... Read More
Market turmoil has always been something that producers have had to deal with, but increasingly, one of the only characteristics of the markets you count on is the instability of the markets. As analyst John DePutter put it, " Volatility is a fact of life in the markets." Those ups and downs have become more... Read More
There are many farmers and many Canadians, that if you asked "Do you feel that government hears your voice as a farmer?", would launch into a frustrated and angry tirade about any number of issues under their skin. In some cases that's a legitimate expression of a system that failed them, but in a greater... Read More
Adopting a national food strategy is no small task. The development of that strategy involves a number of complex issues that have to be identified by importance and then integrated together into a sustainable strategy supported by government policy and a diverse demographic. Simple, huh? There's a reason it's taken so long. With all that... Read More
The World Trade Organization's ruling on the country of origin labelling (COOL) legislation brought some small sense of victory to the Canadian beef industry. The excitement over that victory was short-lived however as producers realized that any tangible results stemming from that ruling would be a long way off. The potential for an appeal by... Read More