Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), says the fundamental strength and importance of Canada's canola trade with China remains, but the recent finding of "hazardous pests" that has shut down Richardson International's exports into the country is a "difficult thing" for the entire industry. At this point, the pests of concern... Read More
Category: Canadian Agricultural Policy
It has been a tumultuous 48 hours for the Canadian canola industry. After news broke that China had pulled Richardson International's approval to ship into the country, we learn today via Reuters that now China is claiming that they discovered "hazardous pests" in shipments from Richardsons. If we can all agree that this finding" is... Read More
At Commodity Classic last week there was no avoiding people discussing trade issues. With the volume of carryover of agricultural commodities in the United States, exports are critical. Canadian farmers are also watching the U.S./China talks with keen interest, and the USMCA ratification as this issue greatly impacts Canada as well. The USMCA ratification is... Read More
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has named its new president and vice presidents. The election took place during CFA's annual general meeting held at Ottawa, Ont., this week. Past president of the PEI Federation of Agriculture Mary Robinson will lead the organization as president. Robinson steps in to the role after the retirement of... Read More
Throughout the NAFTA talks there were many things that Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. did not agree on. One of the sectors that was fortunate to have the major check-off organizations on the same page was the beef sector. This cooperation was in place even before the NAFTA talks on issues such as country of... Read More
Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) has earmarked $41.8 million to build a new state-of-the-art, high-throughput fertilizer terminal near Grassy Lake, Alta. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring of this year, with the terminal expected to be fully operational for the summer of 2020. The southern Alberta branch will have a storage capacity of 34,400... Read More
As we approach the ending of another winter, Mother Nature is not being kind. As some Ontario and Quebec farmers learned last week, wind-whipped snow loads can quickly become too much for even brand new construction. Reports of at least one dairy barn, a hog barn, and a drive shed collapsing in the last week... Read More
This past week the Beef Farmers of Ontario held their annual general meeting near the Toronto airport to take care of some business and discuss the year ahead. The meat sector has seen strong demand for product due to positive economic factors, but 2019 could be different. Additionally, producers are facing increasing costs due to... Read More
The Government of Canada has published revisions to the Health of Animals Regulations (HAR). The regulations come into force one year from publication, on February 1, 2020. While the advent of revamped regulations is not unexpected — there has been a significant amount of consultation on the proposed changes — the timing of the final... Read More
Ontario beef producers looking to use the Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program will notice some changes the next time they apply. Changes announced include: Reduced need for credit checks within the program Steps to streamline the transfer of ownership of livestock once a loan is paid off The Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee Program supports feeder... Read More