Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy

From the inception of the Liberal government's carbon tax plan, agriculture has had major reservations. Farm group leaders have expressed concerns over rising costs, decreasing global competitiveness and a lack of recognition for agriculture's role in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Farm groups have lobbied hard to either be omitted from the pricing, or to receive... Read More

The Canola Council of Canada is moving on without a core funder for 2018, as Richardson International went public with its withdrawal from the national canola industry group this week. Richardson has said it did not receive enough value to justify its investment in the Canola Council, after pushing for changes to the council over... Read More

It was a timeline that was described as aggressive and fast, but not totally impossible. Early in the NAFTA renegotiations, everyone recognized that attempting to complete the negotiations within a seven month timeline was going to be difficult, but optimists thought our economic bond would win in the end. The July 1st Mexican election and... Read More

One of Canada's largest grain companies says it has withdrawn from the country's canola and flax industry groups, leaving the Canola Council of Canada and the Flax Council of Canada with tough budget decisions for 2018. Richardson International, the parent company of Richardson Pioneer, is no longer funding the two national oilseed organizations as of... Read More

After an event that featured congressmen, senators, the U.S. agriculture secretary, Canada's minister of agriculture, and even the president of the United States, NAFTA renegotiation and the future of agricultural trade between Canada and the U.S. is still in limbo. On Sunday, Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay addressed the large crowd at the American Farm... Read More

Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission members passed a resolution at the group's annual general meeting at CropSphere in Saskatoon on Tuesday directing their board of directors to join Cereals Canada. While other provincial wheat grower organizations are members in Cereals Canada, Canada's largest wheat-producing province is notably absent from the national cereal crop value chain association.... Read More

Precision agriculture provides clear evidence of the impact of yield variability. But often farmers find themselves mired in a swamp of data as they work to create management zones and prescriptions to maximize yield across a field. University of Guelph's Clarence Swanton certainly sees the opportunity for farmers to intensify management and increase yield but... Read More

The national association that represents Canadian agricultural retailers has hired a new executive director. Mitch Rezansoff has taken on the lead post with the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers following Delaney Ross Burtnack's departure for the Manitoba Canola Growers Association last summer. Rezansoff was most recently the Integrated Solutions Manager at Enns Brothers — a John... Read More

Dairy Farmers of Canada has found its new chief executive officer, and he comes with an understanding of the processing side of the dairy business in Canada. Jacques Lefebvre's first official day in DFC's Ottawa office is January 8th, as he replaces Caroline Emond, who departed in July 2017. He comes to DFC from his... Read More

According to the dictionary, a sin tax is "a tax on items considered undesirable or harmful, such as alcohol or tobacco." There is mounting pressure from activist groups to add animal proteins to that list of so-called "sinful" items. They argue meat creates added healthcare costs and negative impacts on the environment. It might sound... Read More