Changes are coming to the top of the civil service within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Friday that Chris Forbes, a veteran in federal agriculture policy circles, having served as deputy minister of the agriculture department since 2017, will be moving to... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The 10 per cent top-up to the federal government's carbon tax rebate for rural Canadians should be re-evaluated, according to a Liberal MP from rural Nova Scotia. As part of debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday over a Conservative motion to cancel the federal price on carbon, Kody Blois told his colleagues he... Read More
Canada is an exporting nation, of that there can be no doubt. While some countries struggle to produce enough to feed its people, Canada produces more than double what it needs. That creates a clear opportunity, and some would say responsibility, to export food and food ingredients world-wide. Ted Bilyea, distinguished fellow with the Canadian... Read More
A private member's bill that aims to prevent further market access concessions for supply managed commodities in Canada was approved at second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday, and was referred to the Standing Committee on International Trade. Bill C-282, sponsored by Bloc MP Luc Thériault, would amend existing legislation to prevent Canada's... Read More
If you're like me, the image that the word "exports" evokes is container ships and railways and huge water-side ports. While all of that is very true, there's more to exports than just commodities and large volumes, says Mairead Lavery, president and CEO of Export Development Canada. Lavery spoke at the Canadian Agriculture and a... Read More
Although insecticide products containing lambda-cyhalothrin, such as Matador and Silencer, are registered and will be available for sale in Ontario for the 2023 growing season, some producer groups are cautioning against use of the products due to possible end-use trouble. The updated label for April 2023 removes feed crops as an approved application, but as... Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission is outlining its new science strategy, which details the organization's goals and desired outcomes for grain science. Leading up to the release of the new strategy, the CGC received feedback from stakeholders — industry, organizations, academia, and other departments — as well as from an internal consultation. Esther Salvano, director general... Read More
Rising interest rates mean the federal government's move to expand the interest-free portion of its advance payment program will save farmers — and cost government — more than originally expected. Last June, the government increased the interest-free amount that farmers can borrow through the cash advance program for 2022 and 2023 from $100 thousand to... Read More
The United States is formally requesting a second dispute settlement panel over Canada's dairy tariff-rate quota (TRQ) policies under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade agreement (also known as CUSMA or USMCA). "Although the United States won a previous USMCA dispute on Canada’s dairy TRQ allocation policies, the Canadian government’s revised measures have not fixed the problem," said... Read More
A drone designed specifically for broadacre aerial applications of pesticides was on display at Manitoba Ag Days, at Brandon, Man., earlier this month. With some features different than the typical rotary drones you see out there now, the hybrid drone has a vertical takeoff and land. As Don Campbell, of ROGA Drone Ltd., explains in... Read More