The Canadian government needs to start being honest with itself and farmers. Talking a tougher game would be a great start. China has hijacked the Canadian canola industry. Until someone proves to me otherwise I will continue to say that China’s cancellation of a major grain company’s export license is political. Pretending that this is… Read More
Category: Regulatory
The National Farm Animal Care Council is digging in and forging ahead on one brand new livestock Code of Practice plus significant revisions on three more: goats for meat, fibre and dairy, dairy cattle, and livestock and poultry transport. Jackie Wepruk is the general manager of NFACC, and says that opening each of these codes… Read More
The Government of Canada has published revisions to the Health of Animals Regulations (HAR). The regulations come into force one year from publication, on February 1, 2020. While the advent of revamped regulations is not unexpected — there has been a significant amount of consultation on the proposed changes — the timing of the final… Read More
In case you missed it, there are new rules and regulations regarding Class 1 driver training and licensing coming to Alberta March 1, 2019. The new rules — which significantly increase the number of training hours required to attain a Class 1 — were consulted on for one week last July. News to you? You’re… Read More
The federal government is spending nearly $280,000 to fund the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) to lead the International Phase of the Quality AgriWorkforce Management Program. This project, funded through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program, is designed to clarify best practices for recruiting and retaining international workers. CAHRC’s activities will involve developing and delivering communications… Read More
By Jeff English Canada’s Food Guide was updated this week and, not unlike anything done by government, it was met with a mixed reaction. The changes were not so big. We’ve gone from four food groups down to three. Given the year they’ve had on the trade front, it is easy to forgive our dairy… Read More
Statistics Canada, it would appear, knows you don’t really want to talk to them. The government agency is sharing news of its AG-Zero project — an initiative that seeks to move phone and other surveys from first to somewhere else down the list of information gathering. “We’re working to produce comprehensive, relevant, and integrated farm… Read More
Like other relationships, export markets take time, energy, and diplomacy to develop and maintain. Agriculture trade can be impacted by politics that have very little to do with farming and food, and big-picture friction in the short-term could threaten years of hard work. Just as good news rolls in on reduced tariffs for Canadian agriculture… Read More
Western Canadian cereal commissions from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan are asking federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay for more consultation on proposed seed royalty collection models, including consideration of other options. Further consultations must focus on engaging producers with a new value proposition, the commissions say. The groups are calling for major changes in the Government of… Read More
The Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative (PRC) collaboration, led by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, is set to evaluate technologies that remove phosphorus which could end up in Lake Erie from agricultural water run-off and drainage water. The project is being made possible through funding from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP). The project will establish a… Read More