Canadian cattle and hog producers welcomed the World Trade Organization’s ruling on country of origin labeling (COOL) this week. On this week’s ag news podcast, Kelvin Heppner and the Real Ag team discuss the slow process of resolving the COOL dispute through the WTO, as well as A&W’s new chicken requirements, research to keep farm… Read More
Category: Industry Issues
I never assume anyone knows where my hometown of Mitchell’s Bay (population: 350) is, unless they like to fish or hunt or boat, or come from deep in southwestern Ontario. So I was quite surprised when, on a plane to western Canada earlier this week, the 30-something man beside me from B.C. nodded in acknowledgement… Read More
By Kim Keller, farmer and co-founder of FarmAtHand This post first appeared on Farm at Hands’ blog, here. Lately there has been a lot of media and coverage on agriculture — investments, technology, GMO vs. non-GMO, green fields and blue-sky opportunities and more. But very little attention is given to the real people working in… Read More
A group of more than 30 organizations and agencies from across North America have formed a coalition to address concerns about honey bee health. The Canola Council of Canada, Canadian Honey Council and CropLife Canada are part of the Honey Bee Health Coalition which released a “Honey Bee Health Roadmap” last week. The document lays out… Read More
The World Trade Organization has ruled against the United States once again in the ongoing dispute over American country of origin meat labeling (COOL) rules. Implemented in 2008, the Canadian government says COOL is costing Canadian cattle and hog producers a billion dollars per year. Legal Fight Against COOL Remains Alive, With WTO Ruling Coming… Read More
You’re in town, enticed by the aroma of your favourite coffee joint, but you’ve forgotten your favourite reusable mug. Do you get a java to-go anyway? It’s the middle of winter and you’ve just finished unloading your last grain bag. What do you do with the plastic? Every year, during the third week of October, Canadian… Read More
The darkest days in the flax industry are in the past and the future is looking bright, according to the head of the Flax Council of Canada. There’s excitement surrounding flax, with new and more-diversified demand, stronger prices and a renewed effort to improve agronomic aspects of flax production, says Don Kerr, the new president of the flax industry… Read More
Had another busy week? Here’s some listening material that will get you up-to-speed on farm news from the last seven days. Kelvin Heppner discusses the recent slide (or “correction”) in stock markets, the latest on U.S. country of origin labeling, quality problems in pulses, World Food Day and much more. Here’s the “This Week on Real… Read More
Agricultural legislators from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico met in Chicago last week for the Tri-National Accord — an annual meeting of provincial, state and national delegates to discuss agricultural trade issues. U.S. country of origin labeling (COOL), the impact of PED virus on North American hog production and challenges with grain logistics were three… Read More
As a proud farmer, I love answering questions, discussing issues and listening to concerns about everything agriculture, food and all of the connections in between. Sometimes though, some of those conversations have me thinking for weeks. Case in point: a simple enough question from a young woman left me trying to sort out a tremendously… Read More
I was glad to see stories surface this week from scientists at the University of Guelph and elsewhere warning consumers to beware of restaurant food deep fried in oil. They carried out a study showing oil with too many miles on it in the deep fryer gives off some nasty compounds, even if the food… Read More
What’s a GMO? What do the letters GMO stand for? Do you try to avoid GMOs? Genetically modified organisms received some mainstream attention this week on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The late night comedian sent a reporter to a farmers’ market to find out how much people actually know about biotechnology and food. We don’t know the complete… Read More
Harvest continues to drag out, as farmers in parts of both Western and Eastern Canada cope with some less-than-ideal weather conditions. For this week’s ag news recap, we discuss harvest progress, the upward movement in the markets over the last week, how to communicate complicated science with the public and number of other things that happened… Read More
Nature is cruel. Or, put another way, nature is perhaps the most fair — she, if we can call it a she, cares very little as to the outcome of any change in the environment. There is a consequence to every action, but nature doesn’t judge what is good and what is bad. It just… Read More
The federal government has announced a $7.5 million investment in a new agency that will look after developing and operating a national livestock traceability database. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the funding for the Canadian Agri-Traceabiity Services in Calgary today. CATS is a not-for-profit corporation that brings together the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) and Agri-Traçabilité… Read More