After watching the throne speech yesterday I quickly remembered back to a conversation that I had with Gerry Ritz back in January at Farmtech regarding Canada implementing UPOV 91. (Canada’s plant breeder’s rights system is currently based on the 1978 convention). On several occasions Minister Ritz was very confident Canada would conform to the UPOV… Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Research is often seen as an investment in new technology development, in whirring instruments or the roar of equipment. That might make it easy to forget that new technology results from new knowledge. And knowledge is key to preserving and advancing modern family farms. That reminder comes courtesy of Mildmay, ON dairy farmer Ralph Dietrich. He’s the… Read More
The National Post is reporting that the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) negotiations with the European Union have moved forward following Canada’s commitment to double cheese imports to 30,000 tonnes per year in exchange for added access to Europe’s beef and pork markets. The deal is not done of course, but, if the quoted… Read More
Earlier this month, the Washington State Academy of Science published a white paper on Initiative 522 (I-522), a Washington State initiative aimed to institute mandatory labeling of food containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). On November 5th, the initiative will be taken to the public, and the state will vote on the proposal. The debate continues… Read More
For a province that can seem overrun with highways and hi-tech interests (at least in its most southern regions), it’s significant that its premier, Kathleen Wynne, chose to name herself agriculture and food minister when she took over the reins. She had every other option. You name the portfolio and it could have been hers…. Read More
Changes to the Canadian Grain Commission are in the works, and farmers, grain handlers and industry stakeholders are all encouraged to take a look at the proposed move to an insurance-based model for grain security as a condition of licensing approval. Remi Gosselin, manager of communications for the CGC, says that this change, currently published… Read More
Cereals Canada, a multi-stakeholder, multi-commodity organization, with a goal of enhancing the domestic and international competitiveness of Canadian cereals was recently formed out of the Cereals Council of Canada Working Group. This committee of industry stakeholders came together in 2012 to address the growing national and international interest in cereals. Modeled after other highly successful… Read More
The battle of the new MCOOL rules continue to raise concerns on both sides of the border. Groups like NCBA, AMI, CCA and more are battling the US Government in its quest to make MCOOL a long term reality. Obviously with the US government shut down the last two weeks, nothing is happening. MCOOL seems… Read More
If you’re like most, the idea of filling out paperwork is rather low down on the “how I like to spend my free time” list. At the same time, the extra effort it takes to stay in the know and access government funding can be well worth it, as there are several options within Growing… Read More
The Five Nations Beef Alliance (FNBA) met in Australia for their annual conference. Tours and introductions began in Brisbane, then gradually migrated towards Cairns, where the conference concluded. Some of the topics discussed at the FNBA meetings, included discussions around: the letter of support for a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Country of Origin Labelling, consumer preferences, the Young… Read More
Hot on the heels of Chipotle’s “Scarecrow” scare tactics, comes the announcement from the fast-food chain A&W that it will now be serving “better beef” in both Canada and the U.S. What is better beef? Beef that was raised without the use of growth promotants, according to the company’s press release. A&W has devoted an… Read More
In this edition of the Beef Market Update for late September, Anne Wasko, marketing analyst with Gateway Livestock Exchange, offers commentary on last week’s on-feed cattle report out of the U.S. that added to the bullish outlook there. The hiccup is, she explains to RealAgriculture.com editor Lyndsey Smith, that the same bullish factors of tight… Read More
Ontario Premier and Minister of Agriculture Kathleen Wynne was on hand at Foodshare Toronto yesterday to announce that applications are now open for a new Local Food Fund. “Supporting local food does so much for Ontario. We are committed to working with our industry partners to increase the demand for local food, which will feed… Read More
Bees, as pollinators, are essential to food production worldwide. So when solid evidence of a link between corn planting and bee deaths in Ontario and Quebec was found, farmers and industry recognized the need to look into how to manage the risk of bee exposure to a particular insecticide class called neonicotinoids. As Steve Denys,… Read More
Photo credit: Via Flickr, Paul Xymon Garcia, 2010 Thanks to automation and good management (and perhaps necessity), some producers can farm vast tracts of land themselves with minimal help. But not all farmers are so fortunate. Certain industries, fruit and vegetables for example, require an exceptional commitment to human resources – along with hard work… Read More