Calling it a "watershed moment," five Manitoba farm groups have published their plan to amalgamate into a single provincial organization. The proposal was released on Thursday after nine months of meetings between board and staff representatives from Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers, Manitoba Flax Growers, the National Sunflower Association of Canada, Manitoba Corn Growers and... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared new details on his government's proposed tax policy changes for income splitting or sprinkling on Wednesday, the last day before MPs head home for Christmas. The revised changes include "bright line" tests designed to determine whether a business owner's family members make meaningful contributions to the business, and are... Read More
We often hear that farmers need to tell their story. Farmers need to speak up and make sure their concerns are heard and are understood by politicians and consumers. Too many times our messages seem to fall on deaf ears with left and right leaning governments. However, last week's #farmers4NAFTA campaign by U.S. farm groups... Read More
Farmers and grain shippers won't be getting long-awaited changes to grain transportation rules for Christmas this year. Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, cleared the House of Commons at the end of October, but has only reached second reading in the Senate. Transport Minister Marc Garneau, who has been urging the Senate to approve the... Read More
The demand side of the Ontario corn balance sheet is poised to grow with the provincial government proposing to double its ethanol mandate for gasoline from five percent to 10 percent by 2020. "We currently have the five percent mandate in place and it takes at least about a third of the corn production in... Read More
Earlier this week, China agreed to expand access for Canadian beef, committing to establishing the documentation requirements and fully implementing the 2016 bone-in beef agreement. The country also agreed to establish a pilot project to allow chilled beef and pork imports from Canada. China agrees to pilot project for chilled Canadian beef and pork John... Read More
Both Canada and the United States released their export numbers for the month of October this week and there are some interesting takeaways. Fresh off last week's third quarter GDP numbers that were dragged down by weak exports, the Statistics Canada trade data pushlished on Tuesday showed rebounding exports. Canada's trade deficit shrank to a... Read More
China agreed to expand access for Canadian beef and pork during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Beijing this week. After agreeing in-principle to allow imports of Canadian frozen bone-in beef last year, China committed to establishing the documentation requirements and fully implementing the 2016 bone-in beef agreement. A pilot project has also been established... Read More
In the first half of 2017, I repeatedly supported the Trudeau government on their trade strategy. They seemed to be focused on diversifying Canadian trade away from the U.S., altering the negotiation strategy based on the opponent, and establishing strong starts in Asia where the future global GDP growth will transpire. I have changed my... Read More
Farm groups were quick to show their support as Saskatchewan Environment Minister Dustin Duncan unveiled his government's "Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy" on Monday. The province says the plan is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change, without implementing a carbon tax. (Download the strategy text by clicking here.) “This plan is... Read More