The Canadian agriculture system is complex and integrated from start to finish. What does that mean? It means that grain systems might include forages, manure, or livestock, and fruit and vegetable systems might send byproducts to be fed to livestock to avoid expensive tipping fees and adding to landfills and waste. Even in the vegetable... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The Chinese government has issued long-awaited authorization of Corteva's Optimum GLY canola trait for both food and feed imports as of January 13, 2023. The trait, which provides tolerance for a wider application window and higher rate of glyphosate in canola, has already been approved in 12 geographies, including the European Union last year. Canadian... Read More
The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) has announced its 2023 executive committee, with a well-known Canadian name in the vice-president's chair. Leading the organization will be Ian McConnel, of Tyson Foods, with Canadian rancher Bob Lowe, of Tri-L Ranch, serving as vice-president. Established in 2012, GRSB is comprised of over 100 member-organizations working to... Read More
At many meetings that I attend across the country, there are hallway discussions that include someone saying, "why do we have so many farm groups?" It's a question that we will likely hear more often as time goes on. This is not the same as questioning the value of farm groups (they are valuable!), this... Read More
The Canadian Pork Council's board of directors have chosen their new chair and vice-chair. Rene Roy, a pork producer from Quebec, has replaced Rick Bergmann of Manitoba, the longest-serving chair in CPC history, having led the board for the past eight years. Scott Peters of Manitoba was elected to replace Roy as first vice-chair. "I... Read More
The announcement in late November that Health Canada is moving forward with a label change for lamba-cy insecticide products, ie. Matador and Silencer, effective April 2023, immediately set off alarms across Western Canada regarding problems with flea beetle control in canola. Ontario agronomists and growers then began to ask if they too would have access... Read More
A year after beginning to explore the idea, votes at Monday's annual general meetings of both the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission will see the two groups amalgamate into one. Brett Halstead, chair of Sask Wheat, spoke with RealAgriculture field editor Atley Hamlin right after the vote (listen to... Read More
John Deere has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) that's aimed at ensuring farmers and ranchers maintain the right to repair their own green and yellow farm equipment. The MOU, signed at the 2023 AFBF Convention in Puerto Rico this past weekend, is intended to secure "fair and reasonable"... Read More
The total number of birds on Canadian farms lost due to H5N1 avian influenza nearly hit the 7 million mark in the 2022 calendar year, with over 40 per cent of those birds affected in the last two months in southern B.C. Heading into 2023, the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is... Read More
There are fewer farmers every year in Canada. That's just reality. The impacts of a shrinking demographic are complex and far-reaching, but also sometimes right in front of us — like now, during the Annual General Meeting season of producer groups. The same farmer attending four different meetings, for example, doesn't necessarily make the most... Read More