The Canadian Grain Commission announced today that it is starting consultations on whether it should license feed mills and extend payment protection to farmers who sell grain to feed mills in Western Canada. Producer organizations have been asking the CGC to consider expanding its payment security program to non-licensed buyers after two of Canada's largest... Read More
Category: News
Following the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk in 2012, new producer organizations were formed to lead market development and research for wheat and barley in Western Canada. In Alberta, the soft wheat and winter wheat commissions joined to form the new Alberta Wheat Commission, while the already-established Alberta Barley Commission assumed some... Read More
There are signs the long-running dispute over U.S. mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) rules for meat is moving closer to resolution, as a Canadian delegation led by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz visited Washington, DC. this week. “COOL is on life support,” Ritz told reporters on a conference call on Thursday afternoon. In what was... Read More
The federal and Manitoba governments on Thursday announced $3.1 million in funding for beef and grassland research in Manitoba. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Member of Parliament Larry Maguire (Brandon-Souris) unveiled the commitment at the Manitoba Beef Producers' annual meeting in Brandon. Over the next three years, government and industry... Read More
Kelvin Heppner returns to host this week's news podcast, recapping some of the main ag stories from the past week, including the end of an era in futures trading in Chicago, a weather forecast for the rest of winter and spring in Western Canada, keeping nutrients out of the Great Lakes and what "sustainable" looks... Read More
Every year, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture calculates the date by when the average Canadian has earned enough income to pay for their annual grocery bill, and dubs the day “Food Freedom Day.” This year, Food Freedom Day occurs on Friday, February 6th — one day earlier than in 2014. With 2015 being the "International... Read More
With the overall goal to benchmark the sustainability of Canada’s beef industry, the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) is currently looking for producer participation. “Verifiable sustainability is a ‘want’ of our major customers, and we are being given the opportunity to define what that looks like,” said Cherie Copithorne Barnes, CRSB chair, in the... Read More
Grain and oilseed markets showed little reaction to the latest stocks estimates from Statistics Canada released on Wednesday. The agency’s December 31st, 2014 stocks numbers were generally in line with trade expectations, with all-wheat pegged at 24.8 million tonnes and canola at 11.1 million (see all the numbers here.) Traders were expecting 25 million tonnes... Read More
Soil moisture observations collected by a new NASA satellite will be used for a number of agricultural applications in Canada. The space agency launched the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellite on Saturday, January 31st — it’s the first satellite dedicated to monitoring soil moisture levels around the globe. Jarrett Powers, manager of Agriculture and... Read More
Ontario's premier, Kathleen Wynne, has named several individuals to the Agri-Food Growth Steering Committee. The group is tasked with providing advice and guidance on the road to pushing Ontario's agriculture and agri-food sector to "double its annual growth rate and create 120,000 new jobs by 2020." Included on the committee are: Deb Stark, Deputy Minister,... Read More