RealAgriculture’s top 24 stories of 2024

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Beef Farmers of Ontario pushing for resolution as Cargill strike approaches two-week mark

The strike at Cargill’s beef processing facility at Guelph, Ont., is nearing the two-week mark, forcing cattle to be marketed elsewhere in and outside the province. Around 960 workers at the Cargill facility, which can processes around 1,500 head of cattle per day and represents between 75 and 80 per cent of Ontario’s beef processing…

23

Ontario cabinet shuffle yields new Minister of Farming, Agriculture and Agribusiness

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced changes to his cabinet late Thursday, June 6, the final day of the spring session in the provincial legislature with MPPs headed home until October. While many of the senior cabinet positions were left unchanged, there are some significant changes for agriculture. Lisa Thompson, who has served as Minister of…

22

What’s on the chopping block as farmers sharpen pencils for 2025 budgets

Canadian farmers are more concerned about their financial realities in the face of sticky input prices and lower commodity prices compared to a year ago. Many say they are looking to manage their costs where they can, as expenses are one area that can be changed for a growing season, unlike the weather. As a…

21

Average grain farm will pay 30% more after capital gains tax changes, says Grain Growers of Canada

The federal government’s plan to raise the capital gains inclusion rate in less than two weeks will increase the tax bill on the sale of a typical Canadian grain farm by 30 per cent, based on research conducted by Grain Growers of Canada (GGC). Grain Growers has written a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland…

20

RealAg Shops, Ep 7: Inside the Kadylack Farm shop with Steve Terpstra

When you hear the name Kadylack Farm you may think that Atwood, Ont., farmers Steve Terpstra and his fiancee Dianne De Jong spend their time cruising around in a big automobile. But as it turns out, the farm name is more about family than fancy cars. As Terpstra explains in our latest episode of RealAg…

19

Cereals Canada facing membership upheaval

The national industry association that represents the Canadian cereal grains value chain is navigating some internal upheaval, as multiple grain company members have notified the organization of their intent to withdraw their membership in Cereals Canada. Cereals Canada’s members — which include provincial grain producer organizations from across Canada, grain exporters, crop input companies, millers,…

18

Update on possible dual rail strike at CN and CPKC: Union planning second strike vote

The union representing more than nine thousand CN and CPKC railway workers is organizing a second strike vote, as the current strike mandate is set to expire on June 30th. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has notified its members that it will be holding another vote from June 14th to June 29th, as the…

17

Sun sets on OMAFRA after 30 years

Ontario government sources have confirmed that Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) will no longer exist after Premier Doug Ford cabinet shuffle, announced late Thursday. OMAFRA was hatched in 1994 when Bob Rae’s New Democratic Party government combined agriculture with the rural affairs portfolio to create the new ministry with Agriculture Minister…

16

7 provinces call for immediate reversal of capital gains tax changes

Agriculture ministers from seven out of ten provinces are calling on the federal government to immediately reverse changes to the capital gains tax that they say are hurting farmers and the agriculture sector. As of June 25, the annual capital gains inclusion rate – the taxable portion of a capital gain, such as the sale…

15

Incorporated farms included in new small business carbon tax rebate

Incorporated farms in provinces where the federal carbon tax is collected should receive a little more back on their tax return under the “Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses” proposed in the federal budget last week. The federal government said it would “urgently” return more than $2.5 billion in accrued carbon tax revenue going back…

14

China announces anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola

China is launching an anti-dumping investigation into canola imports from Canada. The move is part of a series of actions announced by the Chinese government on Tuesday in response to the Canadian government’s announcement last week of a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports and 25 per tariff on Chinese steel…

13

Auditor General gives Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s climate track record a failing grade

Canada’s Auditor General was highly critical of the federal government’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture in an independent report released on Tuesday. The audit found Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has failed to design, implement and then track plans for how the agriculture sector will contribute to Canada’s 2030 and 2050 greenhouse…

12

Will rolling snow make it stay? One Alberta farm is trying it

Southern Alberta has been in a multi-year drought, so when the most substantial snowfall in, well, years, fell last week, there’s been plenty of talk of how to keep the snow where it is in hopes it percolates in to the soil. There’s also been action, and one farmer’s innovative approach to water conservation has…

11

Quiet rollout of Sustainable Ag Strategy report sends a message

If a report is quietly published on a government website on the Friday before the New Year’s weekend and no one is told about it, is anyone supposed to read it or respond to it? Because that’s what happened with the federal government’s “What We Heard” report after holding consultations a year ago on its…

10

Saskatchewan beef cow gives birth to quadruplet heifers

It’s not rare for a cow to conceive twins (though triplets are rare), but the odds of a cow conceiving quads is about 1 in 700,000. The odds of those calves being born alive is 1 in 11.2 million, give or take, but at least one Saskatchewan ranch hit the jackpot. Mark and Erin van…

9

Federal budget features expanded capital gains tax, funding for biofuels, and another promise to look at farm equipment interoperability

The federal budget introduced by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday featured changes to how capital gains are taxed, as well as federal funding to develop biofuel production and artificial intelligence, but did not mention many topics and programs farm groups were hoping to see addressed. It also included many previously-announced measures, such as the…

8

PMRA approves first herbicide for drone application in Canada

The use of drones for spraying pesticides on crops is still off-label and not legal in Canada, but it’s one step closer to becoming reality. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has approved its first herbicide for drone application in Canada, although it’s not for agricultural use. Corteva says it has received approval for…

7

4-H Canada forced to lay off staff following major federal funding cut

4-H Canada says it has had to make the difficult decision to lay off seven staff members following a major cut to the funding it receives from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The move comes after 4-H Canada was informed mid-way through the fiscal 2023-24 year that its funding under the federal AgriCompetitiveness Program was approved,…

6

How capital gains taxation changes will impact the farm succession plan

There may be a flurry of activity in several accountants’ offices over the next 10 weeks as farm families grapple with how changes to the capital gains inclusion rate and exemption laid out in the latest federal budget may impact their succession planning. The government plans to increase the taxable portion of capital gains —…

5

Federal government’s Sustainable Ag Strategy suffers setback, as six national crop organizations withdraw

Six national crop organizations are distancing themselves from the federal government’s Sustainable Ag Strategy (SAS). RealAgriculture has confirmed the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canola Council of Canada, Cereals Canada, Grain Growers of Canada, Pulse Canada, and Soy Canada have informed the government of their withdrawal from the SAS advisory committee. The committee, established in late…

4

Six independent companies join MNP to launch agronomy service

Six independent agronomy companies are joining MNP to launch a new agronomy practice in a major shake-up of the Western Canadian crop advisory market. MNP — one of Canada’s largest professional services firms — is bringing together 4R Agronomy, Annex Agro, Arrow Crop Management, Elite Ag, Max Ag Consulting, and Sure Growth Solutions to launch…

3

Spray drones won’t fly any time soon on Canadian farms

Drones are flying everywhere these days but farmers can’t use them to spray pesticides on their crops. It’s illegal to fly unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs) for applying crop protection products in Canada and it’s likely to stay that way for a couple of years. Why are drones still grounded for spray application? The answer is…

2

North West Terminal suspends elevator operation and grain purchases

The board of directors for a large farmer-owned grain elevator in western Saskatchewan has decided to idle its facility as a result of negative margins that it anticipates will continue into next year. North West Terminal Ltd. (NWT) at Unity, Sask. is suspending all purchases of grain, and has cancelled its elevator license with the…

1

Nebraska’s largest feedlot, owned by Canadians, nearly ready to receive cattle

The full version of this article, written by Paul Hamel, was originally published in the Nebraska Examiner. This shortened version appears here on RealAg under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. LINCOLN, Nebraska — Construction workers are hurrying to put the final touches on what is planned to be the state’s largest feedlot for…

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