The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau today announced how Canada will handle crop cultivars that contain gene-editing as part of the breeding process. Bibeau says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has officially published updated guidance for Part V(5) of the Seed Regulations to make it clear which plants — whether developed via… Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council (OACC), made of up 27 non-supply managed commodity organization, is asking Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, to remove the 35 per cent tariff currently levied on Russian-sourced fertilizer. In a letter sent April 13, 2023, the group outlines the collective value of the groups’ economic activity… Read More
A group of 13 commodity and farm organizations representing grain shippers are calling on the federal government to move ahead with a commitment to bring back extended interswitching in the Canadian rail system. The 2023 federal budget included a promise to implement an 18-month pilot trial for extended interswitching. Interswitching allows a shipper that’s served… Read More
Alberta’s government says its Rangeland Grazing Framework recognizes the role ranchers play in managing Crown rangelands. The new framework is intended to provide clarity on how grazing fits in to integrated land management of public land leased or permitted to ranchers for grazing livestock. “Our ranchers have long been stewards of our rangelands, and their… Read More
While she’s new to the role of president, Erin Gowriluk is already quite familiar with the organization she’s leading, as she’s spent the past decade working for organizations that are members of the Canada Grains Council. “I’m new to this role, but not new to the Council,” she explains, discussing her new gig with RealAgriculture’s… Read More
Canada’s seed industry is in the midst of modernizing the Seeds Act and Seeds Regulations, administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The review and modernization process, now several years in the works, is set to wrap up in 2024. The main purpose of the Seeds Act and Seeds Regulations is to protect producers… Read More
It was 2004, less than a year after BSE hit the Canadian cattle industry, when Canada’s first outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) devastated poultry production in B.C. Without any playbook on how to manage the virus, a decision was made to cull all the birds on commercial farms in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. While… Read More
Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has announced Tyler Bjornson & Associates will be providing interim leadership for the organization while it searches for a new executive director. Erin Gowriluk, who led GGC for the past five years, moved into the role of president of the Canada Grains Council as of this week. “Erin has been… Read More
There are two ways to get a horse to carry a heavy load. You can hit it with a big stick, or you can provide a reward for work well done. Think of agriculture as the horse, and governments’ sustainability goals as the load farmers are being asked to carry. Too often governments reach for… Read More
The Canada Grains Council has hired a new president. Erin Gowriluk, who has served as the executive director of Grain Growers of Canada since 2019, will become the Grains Council’s president effective Monday, April 17th. Her experience also includes working in government relations and policy roles for the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, and Syngenta… Read More
After decades of debate among farmers and politicians, it took less than 15 months for the machinery of the federal government to dismantle — some might describe it as steamroll — the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk following the Conservative majority in the 2011 federal election. The behind-the-scenes of how former federal Agriculture Minister Gerry… Read More
Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) has announced plans to expand its canola crushing facility at Yorkton. The facility’s new capacity will be over two million metric tonnes per year, which is more than double its current capacity. LDC initially opened the Yorkton facility in 2009 and currently employs approximately 120 people. Construction of the additional canola… Read More
“If I’d give any advice, I’d say don’t be afraid to ask questions…don’t ask a question because you know the answer. Ask a question because you genuinely want to know, and get their opinion and get their advice. And when you ask that question, when you explore that curiosity, you’re wiser, and the folks who… 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
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is disappointed the Government of Canada has accepted restrictions on access to products in the Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) put forward by the United Kingdom as part of the terms for it to join the deal. Rene Roy, pork producer from Quebec and chair of the… Read More