By Michael von Massow The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) recently launched an advertising campaign to lobby for federal support for grains and oilseeds producers. There has been considerable discussion in social media and other fora regarding financial support for the Canadian agricultural sector. Many groups were disappointed with the size of the federal government… Read More
Submitted by the Western Canadian Wheat Growers In the midst of a global pandemic, the federal government is using April Fool’s Day to increase the carbon tax from $20/tonne to $30/tonne. At a time when hundreds of thousands of people are being laid off and many businesses are at least temporarily closing, the tax on… Read More
The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef held its general assembly at Christchurch, New Zealand, last week. As chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Anne Wasko was there and shares her insight and experience below: As the current chair of Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB), I was pleased to represent CRSB at the… Read More
By Sean Mitchell and Dr. Alfons Weersink As wet planting conditions persist across Ontario, many growers have switching on their mind: should they switch to shorter-season corn hybrids or even leave corn in the bag and plant soybeans? From an economic perspective, the best choice is likely to switch to shorter-season corn with lower heat… Read More
By Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada The world has become protectionist. There is, justifiably, much focus on issues with China. But it is not just China. Canadian agriculture commodities are blocked in India, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam and face issues in key markets such as Peru. Countries are turning inward, finding new ways… Read More
By Jen Christie Making my coffee this morning was so easy. I push a button on a machine. If the water canister is empty, I just turn on the tap. When we’re out of beans, there’s a bag in the cupboard to fill the grinder that costs as much (or more) than some Kenyan’s monthly… Read More
By Cam Dahl I was on a speaker’s panel a few weeks back with a farmer who said he never wanted to hear the word sustainability again. I understand the sentiment but we, as an industry, are going to be hearing that word more and more from customers and consumers around the world. Farmers shy… Read More
By Jeff English Canada’s Food Guide was updated this week and, not unlike anything done by government, it was met with a mixed reaction. The changes were not so big. We’ve gone from four food groups down to three. Given the year they’ve had on the trade front, it is easy to forgive our dairy… Read More
By Sylvain Charlebois Say goodbye to the four food groups; they are now gone. Almost 12 years after the launch of the previous version, the new food guide celebrates food by displaying a plate filled with greens, fruits, plant proteins and grains. And if you look very carefully, you’ll see a cup of yogurt, alongside… Read More
During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland wore a t-shirt that read: “Keep calm and negotiate NAFTA.” To farmers looking at the result, the shirt could just as easily have read “I renegotiated NAFTA, and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.” Canada came to the table with very little… Read More
This op-ed was submitted by Daniel Ramage, director of market development with Cereals Canada Implementing legislation for the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is now in Parliament. Canada has a chance to demonstrate much-needed leadership and cooperation on trade with like-minded global partners. It is imperative for parliament to pass this legislation before its… Read More
While most pastures across Saskatchewan were blanketed with snow this past winter, the landscape will change quickly as warm weather arrives. Native prairie plants such as northern wheatgrass and needle-and-thread will soon spring to life, however their undesirable counterparts, such as leafy spurge, will too. Leafy spurge is a perennial invasive weed many farmers and… Read More
by Greg Porozni, Alberta farmer and Cereals Canada director As part of the 2017 New Crop Missions, “Team Canadian Wheat” visited Canada’s top customers and provided them with technical data and support. Who are Canada’s top customers? Some of the answers, like Japan, will be no surprise to anyone, but many would not expect to… Read More
Editor’s note: This letter was submitted by Jeff Nonay in response to a column written by Shaun Haney that was published on Nov. 13th. Nonay and his wife Coralee own and operate Lakeside Dairy, a diversified farming operation near Edmonton, Alberta bringing to market milk, beef, grain and seed potatoes. In your recent post “Hey dairy,… Read More
A guest editorial submitted by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada: I likely can’t count the number of times I have spoken or written the words “science-based”. It is a mantra of sorts. And for good reason. Technology is the most important competitive advantage for Canadian agriculture. This is how we are going to compete with… Read More