While farm groups are stressing the urgency of changes to business risk management programs, an important meeting in July that served as a soft deadline and a forum for possible action on the issue has been postponed. The annual meeting of agriculture ministers from across Canada that was slated to be held at Guelph, Ont.,... Read More
Category: News
The federal government is tweaking the eligibility criteria to help more businesses access the $40,000 interest-free Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan. Unrolled earlier this spring as part of its COVID-19 relief measures, the government says up to $10,000 of the loan will be forgiven if the rest of the principle is repaid by the... Read More
Farm Management Canada, in conjunction with the Wilton Consulting Group, has released a comprehensive report looking at not only stress and mental wellness within the farming sector, but also the impact mental health has on the business side of farming. In the report entitled Healthy Minds Healthy Farms, most farmers reported "undesirable coping mechanisms that... Read More
The union that represents 730 oil and gas workers at Federated Co-op’s oil refinery in Regina, Sask. says interrupting the fuel supply to farms during seeding is "the only option we have to get back to work." Unifor 594 has written an open letter to farmers, explaining the union's rationale for once again limiting the... Read More
The Canadian government has opened up the application process for a pilot program to give temporary foreign workers who work in year-round roles in the agriculture industry a pathway to permanent residency. The three-year Agri-Food Immigration Pilot program, originally announced in July 2019, is aimed at helping employers in meat processing, mushroom and greenhouse production,... Read More
Saskatchewan's Agriculture Minister David Marit has announced $10 million in funding to help livestock producers manage the impacts of COVID-19 related market disruptions. $5 million will go towards Saskatchewan's share of the costs associated with participation in the national AgriRecovery set-aside program announced by the federal government May 5. The federal government is covering 60%... Read More
The federal government is providing $100 million to Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to administer an Agriculture and Food Business Solutions Fund. The fund is targeted at "proven, viable companies through unexpected business disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic," and will support enterprises in the agribusiness and agri-food sector, including companies involved in primary production, agri-tech,... Read More
The University of Saskatchewan's College of Agriculture and Bioresources will have a new dean as of August 15, 2020. Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn has been appointed to a five-year term, replacing Dr. Mary Buhr, who has served as dean since 2009. Hailing from a farm near St. Brieux, Sask., Bedard-Haughn is currently the associate dean of... Read More
Unit sales of agricultural tractors and self-propelled combines in April 2020 rose in the U.S., according to the latest data from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). This puts total unit sales year-to-date roughly flat with 2019, while the Canadian numbers show continued weakness compared to 2019. For Canada, April tractor sales fell across all... Read More
It has been a very difficult two months for beef producers in Canada due to the COVID-19 market disruption, but they are not alone. At the centre of the plant shutdowns has been the packing plant workers, hundreds of whom have fallen ill or not known if it was really safe to go to work.... Read More