Update on May 20th: The U.S. House Agriculture Committee, as expected, approved Chair Michael Conoway’s bill to repeal COOL on Wednesday morning by a vote of 38-6. It’s expected the entire House will vote on it in early June. The final ruling from the World Trade Organization against U.S. mandatory country of origin labeling and... Read More
Category: Canadian Agricultural Policy
The World Trade Organization has once again sided with Canada and Mexico, as the WTO Appellate Body published a fourth and final ruling on U.S. country of origin labeling rules today. The appeal panel decision affirmed earlier rulings saying COOL illegally discriminates against foreign livestock (read the report and findings here). “The United States has... Read More
Research is supposed to give decision makers information from which they can make sound policy. Without research-based information, what evidence would decisions be based on? Hearsay? Emotions? Gut feel? Some intuition must be part of any decision, sure, but at the core, at least when it comes to public policy, there must be something more... Read More
A fourth and final decision from the World Trade Organization on U.S. mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules will be announced in the next few days. The WTO has said its decision on the Americans' latest appeal to maintain COOL will be shared with members no later than May 18th. Another ruling in Canada... Read More
There’s plenty to cover in this week’s ag news update — from planting progress across the country to trouble in Alberta’s sugar beet industry. Oh, there was also an election in Alberta. Here’s “This Week on Real Ag” for the first week of May: Get the latest ag news delivered to your in-box — subscribe... Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario are speaking up about concerns they have regarding the reach of Ontario’s ministry of environment. It’s no secret that GFO disagrees with the province’s proposed regulations regarding the use of neonicotinoid corn and soybean seed treatments — regulations the producer group says equate to a de facto ban on the... Read More
Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beef Australia. The MOU outlines the opportunity for the two parties to "cooperate in international marketing and promotion, as well as exchange best practices in the areas of livestock management and event planning," according to a CWA press release. Signed May 6th in... Read More
When it comes to supply management, it looks like the showdown between Canada and the rest of the world is reaching another tipping point. But those strange bedfellows, Ontario and Quebec, aren’t going to take it lying down. Late last week the U.S., with its insatiable appetite for accessing Canadian supply-managed markets, said Canada won’t... Read More
Just weeks before the World Trade Organization rules on the U.S. government's final appeal to maintain mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a report to the House and Senate agriculture committees on Friday saying the meat labeling laws have little, if any, measurable economic benefit. The USDA's economic... Read More
Some call it a tax, others a subsidy, but those selling the carbon cap and trade model for Ontario call it a boon for the economy, agriculture included. Recently, Ontario’s premier, Kathleen Wynne, announced the province was committed to the establishment of a cap and trade system to “address climate change by limiting sources of... Read More