Update, June 9: The Canadian government has decided to sign on as a third party in the United States’ request for dispute settlement consultations regarding Mexico’s restrictions on biotechnology in agriculture. The U.S. government's challenge of Mexico's ban of genetically-modified (GM) corn for common food uses is being closely monitored in Canada, specifically in the... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
The Canadian government has not yet decided whether it will join the U.S. in its trade dispute over Mexico's restrictions on agricultural biotechnology. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai formally requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA or USMCA) trade agreement on Friday. The dispute revolves around Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador's... Read More
A new report commissioned by the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Foundation (SSGF) looks at the differences in profitability between cow-calf and annual crop production in southwest Saskatchewan. Over a 50 year time period, the returns from grain farming are $508/acre higher than cow-calf production, according to the research modelling... Read More
A controversial proposal to allow up to three severances off an Ontario farm property will be walked back, according to a letter sent to Ontario farm groups by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Steve Clark. The decision comes after several farm groups, led by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, lobbied the government to drop the... Read More
One of the busiest people in agriculture may be Senator Rob Black. The Ontario senator seems to be everywhere these days talking to everyone on a host of issues. Earlier this month, Black's sponsored bill to establish Food Day in Canada received unanimous support at third reading in the House of Commons. The first official... Read More
The road back to profitability for the pork sector is likely long and difficult as Canadian producers continue to face a troublesome combination of declining domestic demand, fewer opportunities in export markets, and the spectre of tougher U.S. animal welfare regulations that could drive prices lower. It all adds up to tough times for pork... Read More
With California on an aggressive timeline to implement the Farm Animal Confinement Initiative — more commonly known as Prop 12 — requirements by July 1, 2023 the United States pork industry is still reeling with questions regarding the details of verification, logistics, and supply. Last week, we heard from the Canadian Pork Council on concerns... Read More
Can the production rules of one state wag the (curly) tail of pork trade for an entire country? If the state is California, the answer is: it's possible. Prop 12, first passed in the state in 2018 and then upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court this week, sets out space requirements for livestock in production... Read More
The federal agriculture minister says she would like to move ahead on modernizing the Canada Grain Act before the end of the calendar year. The Act and the role of the Canadian Grain Commission in administering it have been the subject of multiple reviews and rounds of consultations, with no major changes going back to... Read More
The interest-free limit of the Advance Payments Program has been increased from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year, effective May 8, 2023. This is the second expansion of the interest-free portion in the last year. It was increased from $100,000 to $250,000 for the 2022 and 2023 program years in June of 2022.... Read More