Canada has quietly joined a coalition of countries promoting “sustainable productivity growth” in agriculture. The Sustainable Productivity Growth Coalition for Food Security and Resource Conservation, known as the SPG Coalition, was first championed by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at the UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021. The coalition’s stated goal is to “accelerate… Read More
Manitoba’s new agriculture minister says helping producers recover from the drought of 2021 and maintaining cross-border movement of feed and the province’s agricultural exports are top priorities as he settles into the minister’s office. Derek Johnson was sworn in as Manitoba’s minister of agriculture last week, as the province’s new premier, Heather Stefanson, appointed her… Read More
Imports of feed into southern Alberta since November have been unprecedented, but delays in shipments, of both corn and distillers’ dried grains (DDGs), from the U.S. have resulted in cattle feeders still having to scramble to find feed. As we reported earlier this week, many feedlots are waiting nervously for trains to arrive, with feed… Read More
The first major cabinet shuffle under Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson’s watch was unveiled on Tuesday, and it includes a new face in the role of agriculture minister. Derek Johnson, MLA for the rural riding of Interlake-Gimli, was sworn in as the new minister of agriculture, replacing Ralph Eichler. Johnson is a former councillor for the… Read More
China and the Philippines have joined South Korea in temporarily suspending imports of Canadian beef following the discovery of an atypical case of BSE in an Alberta cow in mid-December. The Chinese customs administration has stopped issuing certificates for beef and beef products from Canada, while hides are still eligible for export, according to a… Read More
In light of new public health orders implemented by the Manitoba government, the management and board of directors of Manitoba Ag Days have decided to postpone the large indoor farm show to a later date. The province announced new restrictions on Dec. 27 limiting indoor event attendance to 50% venue capacity with a maximum of… Read More
Plans have been unveiled for another soybean crush plant in the Northern Plains. CGB Enterprises and Minnesota Soybean Processors say they have formed a joint venture to build a soybean processing plant near Casselton, North Dakota — 15 miles west of Fargo and approximately 150 miles south of the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Emerson, Man…. Read More
The previous owner and namesake of Buhler Industries has sold his remaining stake in the Winnipeg, Man.-based company to Russian farm equipment maker Rostselmash. John Buhler sold 80.4 per cent of the shares in Buhler Industries to Rostselmash for $145 million in 2007. On December 22, 2021, Buhler and Highland Park Financial Inc., which he… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued mandate letters to his ministers, outlining the Liberal government’s priorities for the session of Parliament that started last month. The letters were made public on Thursday (Dec. 16), 51 days after the cabinet was sworn in, and the second last day of sitting in the House of Commons before… Read More
New details on how the federal government plans to rebate carbon taxes paid by farmers in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta were included in the Dec. 14 fiscal update presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. The Liberal government had previously promised, in the lead-up to the federal budget in spring 2021, that it would refund… Read More
Looming vaccination mandates that are set to apply to truckers crossing the Canada-U.S. border in January are already affecting cross-border supply chains, according to several speakers at the annual Fields on Wheels Conference hosted by the University of Manitoba. The Canadian government says it will require all truckers entering the country to be vaccinated by… Read More
Canadian Pacific Railway is the new owner of Kansas City Southern as of December 14, 2021, although KCS must continue to operate independently until the U.S. Surface Transportation Board approves the North American railway marriage. Upon closing of the US$31 billion deal on Tuesday, the shares of KCS were placed into a voting trust, and… Read More
Canadian trucking industry groups are warning the Canadian government that supply chain challenges will get worse unless there are changes to upcoming COVID-19 vaccination mandates. The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says it estimates that up to 22 thousand Canadian drivers will decide to leave the Canada-U.S. market when the Canadian government’s planned cross-border vaccination mandate… Read More
The lists of which MPs will sit on the House of Commons’ committees for the session of Parliament that started last month were finally unveiled on Thursday. The 12-member Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food includes some returnees, as well as several new faces (denoted with *): Francis Drouin (Liberal, newly-appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture… Read More
The federal and provincial governments have launched an AgriRecovery herd rebuilding program for Manitoba livestock producers who were forced to sell breeding stock due to the feed shortage caused by this year’s drought. The breeding herd buy-back program was promised back in August when the federal and Manitoba governments rolled out AgriRecovery disaster relief funding… Read More