After a 41 year career with Agriculture & Agri-Food Canad, and building his reputation as a world-class wheat breeder, Dr. Ron DePauw has joined SeCan in the position of Science Advisor. DePauw recently retired from AAFC, a career marked by the successful breeding of prairie-farm-staple AC Barrie. DePauw was also a co-developer of AC Lillian,… Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Grain Farmers of Ontario is asking the province of Ontario to extend past key planting dates the consultation period regarding new neonicotinoid regulations. “This request is within the spirit of the rules for the Environmental Registry consultations,” says GFO. The registry’s own website says, ‘Some proposals may provide more time (e.g. 60 days or 90… Read More
Food is growing in importance, but rural Canada is losing its influence. How can that be? Former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Joe Clark has a few ideas. They came to the fore last month for 700-plus participants at the Grain Farmers of Ontario popular March Classic, in London, ON. The organization made a good choice… Read More
Ontario farmers who are accessing or have plans to access Growing Forward 2 funding have a new list of rules to learn. Of particular note, says Margaret May, regional program lead with Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), intake dates have changed, as have the rules surrounding invoice dates, to highlight just a few… Read More
Farmers and fishing businesses will save a projected $50 million in taxes over the next five years thanks to another increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains exemption announced in the federal budget this week. The exemption, which helps farmers reduce their tax burden when transferring ownership of farm assets, has been raised to $1 million for next year,… Read More
Ontario is creating a new Beijing-based agri-food trade advisor position with a goal of further expanding Ontario’s agri-food sector reach into the Chinese market. The new in-market trade advisor will be a seasoned food industry professional with business experience in global markets, says the Ontario government. Funding for the position is through Growing Foward 2. Currently,… Read More
Ontario’s 2015 Agri-Food Trade Mission to China (happening this week) is yielding a new business agreement for one of the province’s most iconic edible exports, maple syrup and maple products, says the government of Ontario. Agriculture minister Jeff Leal and minister of international trade Michael Chan recently met with representatives from Ontario’s Futurevic Global Sourcing… Read More
Western Canadian farm groups are generally welcoming the increased competition that should result from turning the (incapacitated?) Canadian Wheat Board into a private grain company controlled by Bunge and a Saudi investment company, but producer groups are still seeking answers about the farmer ownership part of the deal. The agreement announced this week will see farmers owning 49.9 percent… Read More
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has announced the government’s commitment to “streamline and modernize” the way crop varieties are registered in Canada. These proposed changes will now enter into a consultation period ahead of the actual regulatory changes being drafted. Most major field crops grown in Canada are subject to Variety Registration, such as wheat, canola,… Read More
Less than three years after the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk, the CWB is on the verge of becoming a private grain company controlled by a joint venture between global grain business Bunge and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company — the Saudi Arabian government’s primary agricultural investment arm. The new alliance known… Read More
Update on July 31, 2015: G3 Global Grain Group today announced the successful close of its deal to acquire a majority stake in CWB. CWB will be combined with the grain assets of Bunge Canada to form G3 Canada Limited. Ian White, CWB President and CEO, said he is “gratified” with the outcome of the CWB… Read More
The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC) took a “giant leap forward” today with an announced $1.077 million for the CRSC’s work to establish metrics on sustainable crop production. Gerry Ritz, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, was on hand at the Canadian Global Crops Symposium in Saskatoon today to make the funding announcement. “Consumers… Read More
As expected with lower crop prices, new data from Farm Credit Canada shows the red-hot market for farmland cooled off in 2014. According to FCC’s annual Farmland Values Report released April 13th, the average value of agricultural land in Canada rose by 14.3 percent in 2014 — down from an increase of 22.1 percent in 2013 and a… Read More
Ontario beef farmers will now have access to double the individual loan limits under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee program. For the purchasing of feeder cattle, new members who are enrolled in the program are now able to access a loan for up to $100,000 (an increase of $50,000), and existing members are now… Read More
If you saw the 2011 movie Contagion, you know how bird flu can be vilified. Movie goers left the theatre scared senseless that any traveller they encountered could be a ticking time bomb, as a result of a virus that appeared to spread from the close association between poultry and humans on some Asian farms…. Read More