Tara Mulhern Davidson has been ranching for over 15 years, and has had to manage through several severe droughts in the last five. The perpetual dryness is weighing on planning for the long-term, she says, but there’s also the every day challenges of working with a living commodity. Davidson’s Lonesome Dove Ranch is based at… Read More
Category: Stability Programs
Ontario farmers can access a piece of $68 million in funding through three new programs under the Ontario Agricultural Sustainability Initiative (OASI) Funded through the joint federal-provincial Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP), the initiative includes: Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP) — a $56.7 million, five-year program that will make funds available to eligible farmers to… Read More
The interest-free limit of the Advance Payments Program has been increased from $250,000 to $350,000 for the 2023 program year, effective May 8, 2023. This is the second expansion of the interest-free portion in the last year. It was increased from $100,000 to $250,000 for the 2022 and 2023 program years in June of 2022…. Read More
After undergoing some major changes through the ’80s and ’90s, business risk management (BRM) programs for farmers across Canada have remained largely the same for the last two decades. While there have been a few tweaks to AgriStability and its siblings in the BRM family of programs, AgriInsurance, and AgriInvest, the risks that farmers and… Read More
Premier Doug Ford’s government released its latest budget for Ontario, with a major focus on health care and housing. Tucked in the budget, however, are a few items directly or indirectly applicable to agriculture in the province, including a focus on improving veterinary access in under-serviced areas, support for trades, and a manufacturing credit. In… Read More
This op-ed was written by Tyler McCann, managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, and it coincides with the launch of the new Ag Policy Connection podcast. Episode 1 focuses on the origin and future of Canada’s Ag Policy Framework. You can listen to it here, on Spotify, or in any podcast app. Whether… Read More
Much of what governments in Canada do when it comes to agriculture and farming falls under the umbrella of the “Ag Policy Framework” — the big agreements that federal, provincial, and territorial agriculture ministers have been signing roughly every five years going back to the early 2000s. With the latest iteration of the APF, known… Read More
Minister of Agriculture for British Columbia, Lana Popham, says the province is enjoying a relatively good growing season this year, in spite of the disaster that was last summer of forest fires across much of the province and fall flooding in the Fraser Valley. “When you drive through the Fraser Valley now, you know, I… Read More
Gaps remain on several headline issues, but federal and provincial agriculture ministers sounded optimistic they’ll reach a deal on the next Canadian ag policy framework as they headed into their annual federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meeting in Saskatoon, Sask. taking place July 21 and 22. Most of the agriculture ministers from across Canada participated in a tour… Read More
The next Agriculture Policy Framework is set to roll out in April 2023, and ministers meet next week in Saskatoon to hash out what the next version of funding and programming will look like for Canada’s agriculture industry. As the deadline approaches for changes to business risk management programs and choosing funding priorities, we asked… Read More
Several provinces are advocating for a larger overall funding envelope for the next Canadian agricultural policy framework, ahead of a meeting in Saskatchewan where agriculture ministers from across the country hope to finalize an agreement on the next five years of government programs for agriculture. The next agricultural policy framework will be the main item… Read More
Happy Friday and welcome to another edition of RealAg Politics! Today, co-hosts Shaun Haney and Kelvin Heppner, of RealAgriculture, are joined by a great list of guests to talk about the big ag policy issues of the week that are impacting farmers and ranchers across Canada and the US. This episode features guests: Karen Proud,… Read More
The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) has adjusted the eligibility requirements to now include producers who gross more than $2 million per annum. The previous requirements capped the small business parameters at $2 million, which left many cattle producers ineligible to recover losses sustained this spring after a string of severe weather events. The program… Read More
Several organizations that represent grain farmers from across Canada are raising concerns about the federal government’s push to add environmental incentives or criteria to business risk management (BRM) programs, such as crop insurance, AgriStability, or AgriInvest. As part of the negotiations for Canada’s next five-year agricultural policy framework, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is urging… Read More
Federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) ministers of agriculture from across Canada met in Ottawa on Monday to discuss the next agricultural policy framework ahead of their annual meeting in Saskatoon in July, where they hope to sign a new five-year agreement. The ministers, nine of whom attended in-person, spent their morning session discussing want they… Read More