Feds’ AgriCompetitiveness program has non-profits chasing new revenue streams
Opposition critics say the feds should play a greater role in providing “unbiased” business management training to farmers following recent changes in federal funding for educational non-profits under the Growing Forward 2 policy framework’s AgriCompetitiveness program. Non-profit organizations that previously relied on public funding to provide business and farm management training to Canada’s agriculture […]
Canada phasing out animal growth drugs that cause superbugs, ‘loopholes’ persist
Health Canada is moving to phase out antibiotic drugs for growth promotion in livestock over the next three years due to concerns over antimicrobial resistance. A Health Canada notice to stakeholders on April 10 said it’s working on “removing growth promotion and production claims of medically-important antimicrobial drugs,” and has been promoting “judicious” use […]
Agri-industry still fighting U.S. Farm Bill, but others say best bets are lower dollar, new markets
While some experts consider it a lost cause, the Canadian agriculture industry is still pushing back against American country-of-origin labelling regulations after the U.S. Farm Bill passed into law in February. With a U.S. constitutional challenge back on the docket, originally launched by a group of American and Canadian meat industry associations, and ongoing […]
Trade delegation to Korea seeks to get Canadian meat back in the game
Canada’s agriculture minister is hailing a trade mission he led to South Korea and Japan as a success that secured commitments for increased agricultural sales to those countries. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) extolled the benefits of a three-day delegation that ended April 16, which included a cooking demonstration for a number of […]
Honeybee colonies disappearing at an alarming rate
The Standing Senate Agriculture and Forestry committee is presently pursuing two studies: one on research and innovation efforts in the agriculture and agri-food sector and the other on the importance of bees and bee health in the production of honey, food and seed in Canada. The members of the committee are committed to promoting […]
Climate change has a large impact on agriculture
There are many topical issues that impact Canadian farmers. The looming threat to supply management posed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with the EU, the threat to seed-saving embedded in the Plant Breeders Rights Bill C-18, the crisis created by the shortage of rail cars to […]
Fair Rail Freight Service Act is a failure
The agriculture industry is an important economic driver in Canada, supporting farmers themselves, suppliers, food processors, and all other stakeholders in the food industry. Grains are a big part of our agriculture industry with 15 million hectares of wheat, barley, oats, and rye grown by farmers in fields right across this country just last […]
Bill C-30 a missed opportunity to take real action for farmers
The Conservative government missed an important opportunity to make real improvements for farmers in their response to the grain transportation crisis, which dragged on for more than five months and cost producers billions of dollars. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz spent weeks promising farmers new legislation with “sharp teeth.” But despite these assurances, Bill C-30 […]
It’s full steam ahead for Canadian agriculture
Over the next few weeks, farmers across Canada will head to the fields for spring seeding. In doing so, they will not only grow their crops; they will grow Canada’s economy. Our hard-working agriculture, food and seafood producers and processors generate close to seven per cent of Canada’s GDP and nearly $100-billion in annual […]
New DM should focus on trade infrastructure, not just deals: CFA
A new deputy minister at the Department of Agriculture fits the government’s focus on international trade, but the incoming top bureaucrat should focus more on the infrastructure to take advantage of newly-opened markets, one industry stakeholder says. The government announced April 11 that Andrea Lyon will replace Suzanne Vinet as deputy minister of Agriculture and […]
