Horses and horse racing may not always be top of mind as big business agriculture, but the recent announcement of Ontario pulling the plug on the Slots-at-Racetrack program as of March 31, 2013 is set to rip a huge hole in the equine industry and the economy of rural Ontario. The demise of a horse... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
There is pressure building in the halls of Washington to rescind the mandatory ethanol mandates. With tightening supplies of corn creating higher feed prices for livestock producers and higher food costs for consumers, the pressure mounting in Washington is real. To this point though, according to Kevin Grier of the George Morris Center, nothing has... Read More
As important as the domestic beef market is, the success of Canada's beef industry depends on exports. That means a continued focus on growing current export markets and looking elsewhere for new opportunities to market our beef. It's those relationships that will be responsible for growing the industry. SEE MORE ILC 2012 COVERAGE. Robert Meijer... Read More
This year's International Livestock Congress gave producers a chance to gather together to talk about some of the industries big issues. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association hosts the event that covers a wide range of industry topics from global economic issues all the way to individual efforts toward sustainable production. Martin Unrau is President of the... Read More
Due to the purchase of Viterra by Glencore, much of the media attention has been pointed at Cargill, Richardsons and Glencore. One company that is maybe running under the radar in their strategy in th open market and overal Canadian operations is Louis Dreyfus. At the International Livestock conference RealAgriculture.com chatted with Louis Dreyfus Canadian... Read More
FREEDOM ----The lack of a specific constraint, or of constraints in general; a state of being free, unconstrained. We have finely past the date of August 1, 2012. For decades some farmers have been lobbying to be removed for the clutches of the Canadian Wheat Board's wheat marketing monopoly. How many times have all of... Read More
I was combing through my Twitter feed last night and thought that it felt a little like Y2K — would the stroke of midnight bring certain doom as many monopoly supporters would have had us believe or would the sun rise, just like any other day? Of course, today — the first day of the... Read More
Sometimes knowing when to quit is important. This is definitely something that the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board and the CWB Alliance need to learn. This week, a number of former directors are pleading with the Canadian Supreme Court to rule in their favor. According to the Brandon Sun, Eight former farmer-elected directors of... Read More
NAFTA has been very valuable for agriculture in Canada and the US. An agreement signed by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama looked to further reduce trade barriers. This agreement specifically addresses the crop protection industry and will streamline the product-approval process. As a result, I’m confident we’ll see significant benefits for Canadian farmers. How... Read More
Only days ago it was Canada Day; a day to celebrate our country and embrace all things Canadian. Some think of poutine, but I, and the thousands of other dairy and poultry farms, celebrate our truly Canadian supply management system. It’s how I feed my family, how I feed my country and how I help... Read More