Grain companies have laid out their priorities for the current review of the Canada Grain Act, with consultations underway until April 30. There have been multiple attempts to update the Act going back to the early 2000s, but they’ve all been derailed before reaching the point where the legislation was changed. As Wade Sobkowich, executive… Read More
Category: Regulatory
Daryl Fransoo, grain farmer at Glaslyn, Sask., and Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) director joins us for today’s LIVE! to talk farm policy, public trust, and more! Don’t miss a new LIVE! Q&A every weekday at 3 pm Eastern on your favourite social media channel! SUMMARY Grain farmer at Glaslyn, Sask. Brother just joined… Read More
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau is still waiting to hear back from western provinces on her proposal to adapt the AgriStability program for 2020. Given that the calendar is set to flip to 2021 soon, the clock is winding down on the likelihood of changes being in place for 2020, she says…. Read More
The proposed rules for the federal government’s new Clean Fuel Standard (CFS) are set to be published this week, and will include changes aimed at addressing some of the concerns farmers and farm groups raised regarding an earlier proposal, according to a government document and government sources familiar with the file. Several farm and commodity… Read More
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has harmonized diquat maximum residue limits (MRL) with Canada for group 6c (pulse crops), according to Pulse Canada. The regulation, in effect as of today, establishes tolerance of Group 22 active ingredient diquat in peas, dry beans, and shelled beans, but excludes soybeans. The MRL is set at 0.9… Read More
Bayer has announced that the European Commission has authorized XtendFlex soybean technology for food, feed, import and processing in the European Union. The XtendFlex trait infers resistance to glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba. The EU approval for XtendFlex soybeans was the remaining hold up to the full launch of the trait in the United States and… Read More
Later this week, it will be an offence under Ontario law to “stop, obstruct, hinder or otherwise interfere with a motor vehicle transporting farm animals.” Ontario’s government has proclaimed Section 6(1) and three other related sections of Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020. These proclamations will ensure the safety… Read More
The Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA) — the last of five seed organizations to vote on the amalgamated industry group Seeds Canada — has voted against joining in a vote of 337 in favour, 414 against. A two-thirds majority vote was necessary for the amalgamation to go forward. Seeds Canada is a proposed merger of… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has released an update on reported mystery seed packages. Over 750 individuals from across all 10 provinces have received mystery packages of seeds. Information that the CFIA has collected, to date, includes: packages postmarked from several countries and are declared as toys or jewelry; seeds are from a range… Read More
In the food business, there is likely no more ruthless arena than the grocery store. A recent move by Walmart to impose new costs on suppliers has prompted a group of food and beverage organizations to call on the federal government to step in and regulate the grocery industry. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Dairy… Read More
An unidentified individual has asked the Ontario government to supply a full list of farmers and farm businesses by name and Farm Business Registration (FBR) number. The formal request, filed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, asks the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to provide the following information:… Read More
For perhaps the first time in several generations, Canadians have been faced with real uncertainty in their food system. The fallout of the COVID-19 economic shutdown and panic buying led to shuttered processors, dumped milk, and empty grocery store shelves. Most consumers wouldn’t normally think about or talk about food security or agriculture on a… Read More
While the U.S. and Canada are neighbours and trading partners, and share a similar agriculture industry, there are key differences between the two countries. While integrated, Canadian agriculture and U.S. agriculture food safety, product registration, support programs and more are each unique and a reflection of the societies as a whole. As such, Pierre Petelle,… Read More
While Canadian farmers maintain access to over-the-top use of dicamba herbicides in herbicide-tolerant crops, American farmers are dealing with significant uncertainty regarding access to the product not just this season, but for next year and years to come. The 9th Circuit Court in the U.S. vacated dicamba’s over-the-top registration June 3rd, 2020, ruling that the… Read More
What would the Conservative Party of Canada do with AgriStability and other business risk programs? Does this current Liberal government understand agriculture at all? What can farmers expect to change when the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement comes into effect July 1? If the answers to any of those questions interest you, check out this RealAg LIVE! segment… Read More