There are plenty of active agriculture-related files on Parliament Hill heading into the final three weeks of the spring session, including carbon pricing policy, capital gains tax changes, HPAI in dairy cattle, funding for 4-H, and the implementation of a Grocery Code of Conduct. The Conservative Party's shadow minister of agriculture and deputy chair of... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
10 national farm and commodity organizations are raising concerns about the federal government's plan to increase the capital gains tax inclusion rate and related tax policy changes that were announced in the 2024 budget last month. The organizations, including the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Cattle Association and Grain Growers of... Read More
The term "agricultural extension" generally refers to the process of applying new research and knowledge to help farmers improve farming methods and techniques. While this concept has existed for thousands of years, the word "extension" itself dates back to the 1860s in England when universities made an attempt to extend practical information through lectures outside... Read More
The draft 2023 Farm Bill passed by the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives Agriculture Committee last week is facing an uphill battle to gain approval from enough Democrat lawmakers ahead of a looming September 30th deadline on the extension of the 2018 Farm Bill. The House committee bill would increase support for farm commodity programs,... Read More
MPs on the House of Commons' agriculture committee have published a list of recommendations for the federal government to tackle the issue of food price volatility after studying the topic over the past six months. The committee heard from a long list of witnesses, including executives from Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys-owner Empire, Walmart Canada and Costco,... Read More
The prime minister announced the appointment of a new deputy minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on Friday. Lawrence Hanson, currently associate deputy minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, has been chosen to replace Stefanie Beck, effective June 3, 2024, as the top bureaucrat in the federal agriculture department. Beck is moving on... Read More
Governments in many countries are enacting policies aimed at mitigating climate change — massive subsidies, carbon levies, and strict regulations — that also have consequences on trade flows. Billions of dollars of incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S., the Canadian government's carbon taxes, and the EU's biofuel feedstock requirements and carbon border... Read More
North American cattle industry representative met last week in Mexico to attend the Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas’ (CNOG) annual meeting and a trilateral meeting between the parties. Up for discussion was sustainable global trade that encourages efficient production practices, as well as focusing on protecting herds from animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth and lumpy... Read More
There are many priorities that influence how land is used — the need for housing and economic development often drives the conversion of farmland and natural habitat into urban or suburban landscapes, but food security, productivity, biodiversity, crop or livestock prices, renewable energy policy, and of course, NIMBYism are among the many factors that can... Read More
The Canadian agricultural industry and seed needs and demands looks nothing like it did in the early 1900s, when the Seeds Act was first enacted. While the act has gone through some changes since its inception, the federal government launched a full-scale modernization of the seed industry four years ago. Now through the second consultation... Read More