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
Editor’s note: This letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau was submitted to RealAgriculture by Stewart Skinner, a young pig farmer from Listowel, Ontario, who voted Liberal in the 2015 federal election. He was also the Liberal candidate for Perth-Wellington in the 2014 Ontario election. Skinner posts periodically on his Modern Farmer blog. October 2nd is the last day to… Read More
Editor’s note: This is a guest market column by Dwight Nichol, DLN AgVentures. StatsCan released their July 31st Ending Stocks report for the 2016-17 crop year on Wednesday. This was the third week with new Canadian revisions, and other than minor changes, should finalize crop year 2016-17 Supply and Demand balance. This stocks release is… Read More
This editorial was written by Brenna Mahoney, director of communications and stakeholder relations for Cereals Canada. As I scrolled through my Facebook this morning, I came across a treasure trove of misinformation and fearmongering. Some of my friends writing in the comments how they agree that our food system is a big conspiracy and we… Read More
By Sean Mitchell and Dr. Alfons Weersink Wet, cool weather is raising concerns about planting delays in Ontario. With these concerns comes the possibility that, when planting resumes, producers will opt to plant soybeans in lieu of what previously would have been corn. This is due to a combination of relatively attractive soybean prices, a looming… Read More
A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada There have been a lot of questions about trade since the U.S. election. The new President promised to take the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and he did just that with his first Executive Order. President Trump has also promised to renegotiate NAFTA, causing… Read More
This is an op-ed submitted by Levi Wood, Saskatchewan wheat farmer and president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association; and Jason Scott, U.S. Wheat Associates chair and Maryland wheat farmer. Since the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s government monopoly control over the marketing of western Canadian wheat, there has been a great deal… Read More
An op-ed column by Brenda Tjaden Lepp Over the past couple of years, I have been developing and promoting new marketing tools to help farmers prove the concept of sustainability to consumers, and to use that to their advantage in pricing. Most recently, my efforts have targeted helping those transitioning into organic. I have always… Read More