The Canadian agriculture system is complex and integrated from start to finish. What does that mean? It means that grain systems might include forages, manure, or livestock, and fruit and vegetable systems might send byproducts to be fed to livestock to avoid expensive tipping fees and adding to landfills and waste. Even in the vegetable... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
At many meetings that I attend across the country, there are hallway discussions that include someone saying, "why do we have so many farm groups?" It's a question that we will likely hear more often as time goes on. This is not the same as questioning the value of farm groups (they are valuable!), this... Read More
The Canadian Pork Council's board of directors have chosen their new chair and vice-chair. Rene Roy, a pork producer from Quebec, has replaced Rick Bergmann of Manitoba, the longest-serving chair in CPC history, having led the board for the past eight years. Scott Peters of Manitoba was elected to replace Roy as first vice-chair. "I... Read More
The announcement in late November that Health Canada is moving forward with a label change for lamba-cy insecticide products, ie. Matador and Silencer, effective April 2023, immediately set off alarms across Western Canada regarding problems with flea beetle control in canola. Ontario agronomists and growers then began to ask if they too would have access... Read More
A year after beginning to explore the idea, votes at Monday's annual general meetings of both the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and the Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission will see the two groups amalgamate into one. Brett Halstead, chair of Sask Wheat, spoke with RealAgriculture field editor Atley Hamlin right after the vote (listen to... Read More
There are fewer farmers every year in Canada. That's just reality. The impacts of a shrinking demographic are complex and far-reaching, but also sometimes right in front of us — like now, during the Annual General Meeting season of producer groups. The same farmer attending four different meetings, for example, doesn't necessarily make the most... Read More
It was one year ago this month that Canada disclosed the finding of an atypical case of BSE. While the finding didn't impact most markets, it did create trade frustrations with China that are still not rectified. Unlike classical BSE cases, atypical BSE appears spontaneously in older cattle, even in countries where no classical BSE... Read More
The Canadian Transportation Agency has issued its ruling on how CN and CP Rail's profits from transporting Western Canadian grain compared with their regulated maximum grain revenue entitlements for the 2021-2022 crop year. CN's grain revenue last crop year was reported at $592,208,589 — $3,068,088 above its maximum entitlement, while CP's grain revenue was $515,508,638... Read More
The federal government is looking at options for how to spend $34.1 million to help farmers in Eastern Canada who have been affected by 35 per cent tariffs applied to fertilizer imports following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. While the tariff proceeds have been committed by the Canadian government to restoring the power... Read More
The full brunt of the 35 per cent tariff on Russian-sourced nitrogen in 2022 didn't just equal millions of dollars paid by Canadian farmers, it also put a spotlight on the challenges of some global trade flows. Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) commissioned StoneX to explore the issue, and author of "Farmers Need Fertilizer," Josh... Read More