The Canadian Grain Commission has announced it is moving five more Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat varieties to the new Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) wheat class due to these varieties not meeting gluten requirements for Western Canada’s flagship CWRS class. After hearing concerns about gluten strength from customers, the Grain Commission tightened the… Read more »
Category: Ag Policy
Action needed to reopen Italy to Canadian durum: Cereals Canada
With the ink still drying on a trade agreement that was supposed to reduce barriers to trade, a protectionist measure has shut out one of Canada’s largest single product exports to Europe. Durum wheat shipments from Canada to Italy have been halted since October, shortly after the Italian government announced it was moving ahead with… Read more »
Farm groups asking Ottawa to intervene in looming rail strike
Prairie grain farmers are urging the federal government to take action to prevent workers with CP Rail from going on strike as early as this weekend. A strike now would only add to the problems with grain movement this crop year. Around 3,000 conductors and engineers who are members in the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, as… Read more »
Move away from neonics not reflected in MOECC corn planting statistics
Following significant restrictions by the Ontario government in 2015, seed corn companies in the province began to offer non-neonicotinoid seed treatment insecticide options. Now, a significant portion of corn seed sales carry non-neonicotinoid options. It’s bizarre then, that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change recently published data showing only a 22% reduction in the amount… Read more »
Trump revives U.S. agriculture’s CPTPP hopes, at no cost
President Donald Trump revived the U.S. agriculture industry’s hopes of participating in the trade deal now known as CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) on Thursday, but until there’s concrete action showing he’s serious, U.S. farmers and CPTPP member countries, including Canada, should not get too excited. The president is well aware that… Read more »
Optimism and urgency in Mexico for possible NAFTA agreement-in-principle
News of Canada, Mexico, and the United States possibly reaching an agreement-in-principle in North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in the next few weeks is creating optimism in Mexico. “The whole issue has gotten lots of attention lately,” says José Díaz-Briseño, the U.S.-Mexico correspondent for the Mexico City-based Reforma newspaper, in the following interview. Earlier this… Read more »
6 tips for accessing government grants
If government funding announcements leave you scratching your head on whether or not you’re eligible, you’re not alone. Actual announcements are usually high on ten dollar words and low on concrete details. There’s a reason for that: often, the actual announcement is made long before details are even hammered out. And, as with many programs… Read more »
Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Ontario details and deadlines you need to know
Programs offered in Ontario under the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) are now open for applications for cost-share funding. CAP, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative, supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors through cost-share funding opportunities. It’s modelled on the previous Growing Forward 2 program, but there are differences, explains Margaret May, regional program lead for the Ontario Soil and… Read more »
Announced high speed rail will split farms in half, isolate rural communities
Last week, the Ontario government formally announced the blueprint for bringing high speed rail (HSR) to southern Ontario. The $11 billion line item in last month’s election-ready budget would see Phase One connect London and Toronto by 2025, according to the province. The proposed HSR line would eventually run all the way to Windsor for… Read more »
Dairy price study finds Canadians don’t pay more for milk
A former senior advisor for a Canadian trade minister has published a report that will raise some eyebrows and counter a common narrative surrounding Canadian dairy and the supply management system. The study, published last week by a new Ottawa-based trade firm called Export Action Global, found Canadians don’t pay more for comparable dairy products… Read more »
Sitting on the right side of the fence on a trade war with China
This week has been laced with trade threats, drama, and fear for agricultural commodity markets, all based on the possibility of a trade war between the U.S. and China. Most economists agree that though a trade war has yet to start, there is a serious flirtation with one. And no matter what President Trump tells… Read more »
Beef Market Update: Trade news and cold weather keeping folks up at night
Whether we’re talking calving or barbecuing, it’s not ideal when temperatures are 20 degrees below their seasonal normal. The delayed onset of spring is not doing ranchers any favours, with calves hitting the ground in difficult conditions this spring (if we can call it that). At the same time, with large cattle supplies hitting the… Read more »
Keep it cool: Chill milk as it leaves the robot
Milk cooler sales can tell you a lot about the state of the North American milk industry. As U.S. dairy farmers continue to struggle with low prices resulting from oversupply of fluid milk, sales of cooling systems reflect these challenging times in the marketplace. Mike Kelley, regional sales manager for Mueller Dairy Farm Equipment, says… Read more »
HyLife completes hog plant expansion, driven by Japanese demand
HyLife Foods celebrated the expansion of its hog processing plant in Neepawa, MB, this week — an expansion that has been driven by growing demand for Canadian pork in Japan and China. The La Broquerie-based company has added 100,000 square feet to the facility, including new cutting floor space, a shipping/packaging area, and more cooling… Read more »
Canadian Foodgrains Bank responds to supporters’ concerns about article
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) has responded to concerns from farmer supporters about an article commissioned by the organization that was published in The Hill Times newspaper. The column, written by third-party author Sophia Murphy, argued the Canadian government should expand the scope of its proposed national food policy to account for the global impact… Read more »