Snowbanks may have made moving feed to cattle a challenge in eastern areas of the Prairies that received plenty of snow this winter, but cattle producers are definitely not complaining about the now-melting drifts as they scratch through an extremely tight feed situation in anticipation of green pastures. As foreseen since the drought last summer,… 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

AgriStability, the whole farm, business risk management program has been in place for Canadian farmers for 16 years. In that time, it’s been maligned and criticized, and it continues to be subject to an ongoing tug-of-war between federal and provincial politicians. But with a new ag policy framework to be unveiled for 2023, changes to the… Read More

Farmers Edge has announced the creation of DigiAg Risk Management Inc., a subsidiary of Farmers Edge. This new unit will provide farmers across Canada with parametric insurance products, risk transfer solutions, and group benefits, the company says. DigiAg is the sole managing general agency (MGA) with access to proprietary, field-centric datasets coming directly from broadacre… 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

2021 has been a tough weather year. From prolonged drought and excessive heat, to the flooding witnessed in recent weeks in British Columbia — weather disasters have had a tremendous impact on Canadian farms and agriculture businesses. Erik Davies, from Barefoot Consulting, has spent his career working on disaster recovery and risk management issues. Last month… Read More

Editor’s note: This story and headline were updated after the provincial government published its letter responding to APAS. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and the provincial government are disagreeing publicly over the province linking drought-induced crop insurance payments with its deficit for 2021. The Saskatchewan government reported a projected record $2.7 billion deficit in… Read More

Addressing the shortage of workers in agriculture, “everything related to the climate transition,” and preparing for an upcoming meeting with her provincial and territorial counterparts — those are the first three priorities Marie-Claude Bibeau mentions when asked about her to-do list as she returns as Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Following a third consecutive… Read More

It’s been approximately two months since drought relief programs were announced for Prairie livestock producers struggling to find feed supplies to maintain their herds. RealAgriculture spoke with representatives from the three Prairie provinces to get an update on the number of applications they’ve received and the amounts that have been paid out. Alberta Alberta has… Read More