Global need, market prices, and implications from the pandemic have all demonstrated the benefits of bolstering local agriculture infrastructure, something that Alberta NDP ag critic, Heather Sweet, says the province needs to play catch up on. When comparing the Prairie Provinces, Alberta is showing far less traction with breaking ground on new value-added processing than... Read More
Category: Canadian Agricultural Policy
The On Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) is a federal program being administered by 12 organizations across Canada. In Ontario, the funding for nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing is largely being administered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). EcoCert is also administering a portion of funds for organic growers. Margaret... Read More
The details of how the Canadian government plans to reach its 30 per cent nitrogen fertilizer emission reduction target are still not clear, but the federal agriculture minister says the government has "no intention of going in a regulatory direction." Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau also says farm practices that reduce emissions, but are not currently... Read More
A steam-sprayer company is currently conducting trials researching the efficacy of steam-spraying to new depths, which so far, has produced promising results. The X-Steam-inator is a spraying system that utilizes steam to kill weeds and thanks to research being done in Yuma, Arizona, could produce a sizeable increase in production. Ron Gleim, founder and CEO... Read More
The Canadian government's plan to reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizer has gained widespread attention over the last few weeks, with plenty of unanswered questions and uncertainty surrounding the proposal. Originally announced in late 2020, the plan to reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from synthetic fertilizer by 30 per cent in 2030 relative to a 2020... Read More
Fertilizer emissions have garnered quite a bit of attention across Canada, and although this isn't a new conversation, many questions still hang in the balance as the details get ironed out. In 2020, the federal government stated it wanted to see a 30 per cent reduction in fertilizer emissions by the year 2030. Some producers... Read More
The evolution of nitrogen emission policy in Canada is, well, a bit of a dog's breakfast. There's overarching emissions targets, there are several regulations and standards to follow, plus, there's funding and support to achieve some of this — all tallied up in a ledger that's controversial (and confusing) in where numbers are added in,... Read More
Could volatile be the new normal when it comes to commodity markets? With volatility being the only constant over the past while, it is certainly something that farmers and marketers are getting used to as they continue to try and navigate their way through fluctuating prices and variables that seem to be ever increasing. With... Read More
On July 28, the federal, provincial, and territorial ministers met to hammer out an agreement-in-principle for the next version of the ag policy framework (APF). Beginning April 1, 2023, the next version will be called the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP), and will include some big changes from the current version, including more total funding... Read More
Minister of Agriculture for British Columbia, Lana Popham, says the province is enjoying a relatively good growing season this year, in spite of the disaster that was last summer of forest fires across much of the province and fall flooding in the Fraser Valley. "When you drive through the Fraser Valley now, you know, I... Read More