Jeff Leal, Ontario's minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, will meet with the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) on March 26th, 2015. The minister's office says this is to meet with new GFO chair Mark Brock. This meeting follows shortly after the release of the producer group's Pollinator Health Blueprint. The GFO's blueprint is... Read More
Category: Canadian Agricultural Policy
The Canadian government’s decision to implement UPOV ’91 standards for plant breeders’ rights is driving new investment in crop breeding, say seed industry officials. Bill C-18 — the federal legislation amending the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act — became law last week. Representatives from the seed trade and the crop sector value chain celebrated its passage... Read More
While much of the public conversation has been focused on UPOV ’91 and plant breeders rights, changes are also being made to the federal government’s Advance Payments Program now that Bill C-18 — the Agricultural Growth Act — has become law. The amendments to the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act are supposed to make cash advances... Read More
A full-court press, led by Canadian mushroom growers, is on to try to stop hundreds of foreign workers specially trained for agriculture jobs in Canada from having to leave. On April 1, a federally mandated rule kicks in that requires them go home if they’ve been here four years. And it’s going to affect the... Read More
The federal agriculture minister, seed industry officials and representatives from various crop sector and farmer organizations celebrated the passage of Bill C-18 — the Agricultural Growth Act — at the head office of Canterra Seeds in Winnipeg on Friday. The legislation, which includes the implementation of the UPOV ’91 standard for plant breeders’ rights and... Read More
Delegates of the Alberta Beef Industry Conference heard from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (AARD) on the latest case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on February 20, 2015. The representatives gave an update on the case, and provided insight into the measures Canada is taking to reduce disease... Read More
Growth in the U.S. economy and the export opportunities that come with it are expected to offset some of the impact of low oil prices on the Canadian economy. The coinciding weaker Canadian dollar won’t hurt exports either, notes the chief economist with the Conference Board of Canada. “This is a good time if you’re... Read More
Officials from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. were in Geneva this week for World Trade Organization appeal hearings on U.S. country of origin labelling (COOL) law. In the podcast below, John Masswohl of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Kelvin Heppner discuss what happens next in the dragged-out COOL dispute resolution process, including when Canada could... Read More
From new developments in Canada's latest case of BSE to the need for more investment in rail infrastructure, here's a quick audio snapshot of this week's ag news — the TWORA podcast for February 19th, 2015: Mentions: CFIA Investigation Unveils Birthdate of Alberta BSE Case Corn School: My Standing Corn is Turning Black — Is... Read More
Update — Sunday, February 15th: The CFIA says South Korea has suspended imports of Canadian beef, pending further information on the confirmed BSE find. Almost 12 years after the first discovery of BSE in a domestic cow, headlines containing the acronym for the fatal neurological disease in cattle still touch a nerve among Canadian cattle... Read More