The Alberta Government today announced details on the Enhancement of Protection of Farm and Ranch Workers Act (Bill 6) working groups, including that the members for those groups have been selected. "The nomination process to these working groups has identified a broad and diverse range of voices from the farm and ranch sector to provide... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
The federal government is "purposefully delaying" making a commitment that Canada will participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, says the trade critic for the Official Opposition. Gerry Ritz, who was the agriculture minister when the terms of the TPP were finalized prior to the federal election last fall, says the Liberals appear intent on dragging out... Read More
Last week the new Progressive Conservative government in Manitoba changed the name of its agriculture ministry back to the Department of Agriculture. Previously it was the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, or MAFRD. Many people on twitter were cheerleading the decision as if this was agriculture finding its roots with the name change.... Read More
The federal agriculture minister has launched online consultations on what Growing Forward 3 — or whatever name the Liberals give the next agricultural policy framework — should look like. Growing Forward 2, which encompasses most federal and provincial programs for agricultural research, market development and business risk management, expires on April 1st, 2018. Lawrence MacAulay,... Read More
The media firestorm caused by Earls Kitchen + Bar's pursuit of the “Certified Humane” standard has quickly become a cautionary tale for both the farm and food industry. It’s a situation a coalition of Ontario farm organizations are hoping to avoid by working with the food and beverage sector to help clarify and streamline sustainability... Read More
It's not like there aren't enough things for farmers to do at this time of year, but anybody who farms in Canada can add answering questions for the Census of Agriculture to their must-do list for the month of May. Forms for Statistics Canada's mandatory farm survey have started arriving in a little over 200,000... Read More
Dairy Farmers of Canada is welcoming the federal government's commitment to providing a compensation package to mitigate the impact of the Canada-EU trade deal. There have been questions about the Liberals' plans for trade deal compensation after the Conservatives pledged a $4.3 billion program for the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors prior to their defeat... Read More
A RealAgriculture reader poll suggests farmers and the agricultural industry want Grain Farmers of Ontario to continue the fight against the province’s new seed treatment regulations that restrict neonicotinoid use. Last week we asked readers: Should GFO Keep Fighting for Neonic Use? More than 75% of voters who cast ballots in the online poll indicated... Read More
It's backwards. Illogical. The federal government's move to enforce an outdated rule that increases the risk of PED virus infecting Western Canadian pig farms doesn't make sense. While hog operations across the U.S. and Eastern Canada have been devastated by PEDv over the last few years, Western Canadian hog farms have managed to stay mostly... Read More
We ran a poll last week asking Alberta producers if they were procrastinating or protesting the mandatory sign up for WCB. You can see from the results that 28% of respondents say they refuse to sign up for a WCB account based on their personal principles. It's been brought to my attention that I misinterpreted... Read More