Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy

Any way you look at it, 90 million dollars is a lot of money. That's the amount the Western Grains Research Foundation has accrued over the years due to the railways exceeding their revenue cap. That's sad news for farmers who paid much more than they should have for transport, but the good news is... Read More

The Canadian Grain Commission recently released a summary of the feedback it received regarding impending changes to its user fee system. Industry stakeholders, including farmers, were asked to submit their questions, critiques and suggestions for changes to the not only the user fees, but also changes to the Canada Grains Act. Generally, there seems to... Read More

The governments of Canada and Ontario are making a joint investment to help farmers adopt innovative and sustainable on-farm water management practices. That's according to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ted McMeekin who jointly announced a new initiative that will focus on finding new technologies and solutions... Read More

Sir Winston Churchill said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Over the last year or so, several significant changes and developments have occurred in the Canadian cereals sector – including most recently, the announcement by the federal government that the Canadian Grains Commission will move... Read More

There's no doubt that there are significant rules and regulations in place that farmers must follow in order to certify their production as organic. Canada has a rigourous organic standard, and organic farmers typically take several years to fully transition to the production system. In turn, Canadian consumers have more organic choices in supermarkets than... Read More

Last week, the federal government announced three new Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada-based programs under the Growing Forward 2 banner — AgriInnovation, AgriMarketing and AgriCompetitiveness. While the press release outlines some details about the programs, the supplied information was a little light. RealAgriculture.com asked AAFC for further details. Below is the Q and A exchange (unedited).... Read More

The Liberal Party of Canada is in the middle of choosing a new leader. While the vast majority of attention has been lavished on a raven-haired prime minister's son, Martha Hall Findlay has been the first (and perhaps only) candidate to bring any part of an agriculture platform into the race. RealAgriculture.com's editor, Lyndsey Smith,... Read More

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) hosted its annual roundtable meeting between Canadian and US beef industry leaders during Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. Now in its seventh year, the roundtable brought cattle producers from North Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin to meet with their Canadian counterparts at Agribition. The event gathered six American representatives... Read More

Food safety in the beef industry was a topic that was front and centre at this years Canfax Cattle Market Forum. Producers and industry members were left questioning just how far the impact of the recall would reach and how long the hangover would last. As we found out when we sat down with Brian... Read More

There are only a few days left for farmers to weigh in on impending changes to the Canada Grain Act. If all you've heard about so far are changes to user fees, you're not alone. Much of the media attention has centered on the costs of running the Canadian Grain Commission, because, for the most... Read More