Since the fall of 2019, beef packer profits have received major attention by ranchers and feedyards. Much of the discussion started after the packing plant fire in Kansas, but has exploded recently due to the results of the COVID-19 pandemic. Packers have struggled to stay online due to COVID-19 cases related to the plant, and... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
Progress throughout history has never been linear and, often, a jarring event is needed to force us into facing uncomfortable truths about our own failures. That is not an indictment, but more an acceptance of the reality that progress requires understanding where we’ve fallen flat and then seeking to improve. There was much gnashing of... Read More
When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won the fall election, the agriculture industry knew that it would face real challenges being viewed as a priority industry. I think the challenge has become much bigger than even the greatest skeptics of Mr. Trudeau could have imagined. The prime minister's announced $252 million in COVID-19 relief for the... Read More
The federal government has released its second round of support aimed specifically at the agriculture industry, and reaction to the $252 million (split between three initiatives) has been swift and consistent: it's not enough. Below is industry reaction from several commodity organizations, including those to whom a portion of the targeted funds will flow. The... Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used his daily 11 am national address to announce $252 million in various funding and credit programs aimed at agriculture. "Everyone working in the food industry is working harder than ever to fill the shelves of our grocery stores," said Prime Minister Trudeau in French during the morning briefing. The Canadian... Read More
We are a long way from getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as provinces and states begin to relax restrictions, we know that a return to "normal" is possibly months away, and that's not even accounting for the unknown of whether or not this re-opening of the economy will lead to a second wave of... Read More
I was scanning through the news last week, and there was a really good transcription of the exchanges during the house agricultural committee with the Minster of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie Claude Bibeau. Some things really stood out to me from the transcript that showcase a problem as it sits today. What I've noticed is... Read More
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's become abundantly clear to many that Canada's livestock processing industry is incredibly concentrated to a handful of federal plants. Now, as these plants face partial or short-term closures, many farmers and consumers alike are lamenting the lack of small, local abattoirs. The trouble is, it's not easy... Read More
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has put a number on the emergency fund it wants the federal government to provide for the agriculture and food industry: $2.6 billion. CFA says this amount is based on estimates of the immediate impacts of COVID-19 provided by agricultural commodity groups across the country. The emergency fund is... Read More
Editor's note: this story was updated on April 29 with new information and a quote from the Dairy Processors Association of Canada and Dairy Farmers of Canada. The leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada is accusing the governing Liberals of breaking a promise to delay the implementation of the new North American... Read More