Changes to Canada’s variety registration system and staying competitive and innovative were hot topics at this week’s Canadian Seed Trade Association semi-annual meeting. Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at the CSTA semi-annual meeting to announce a $100,000 worth of funding for the seed industry, but after that announcement the discussion turned to… Read More

Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at Agri-Trade at Red Deer, Alta., today to announce over $25 million in funding support for the the National Wheat Improvement Project (NWIP). The Government of Canada, along with the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA)… Read More

In a continuing trend, consumers are saying no to the idea of making the labeling of GMO included foods mandatory.  In Washington voters said no to the idea of mandatory GMO labeling. Detractors will spout off that this loss was due to biotech companies spending a state record 22 million dollars, but the reality is… Read More

By Michael Grant, Director, Research, Centre for Food in Canada This post first appeared here, and is re-posted here with permission. An upcoming report for The Conference Board of Canada’s Centre for Food in Canada argues that it is time for the Canadian dairy sector to transition from playing defence to playing offense. The notion… Read More

“There are no facts, only interpretations,” is a common quote I refer to from poet Friedrich Nietzsche. Modernizing the language, I take it as, “Facts don’t matter, only the perception.” The struggle for perception in food is at an all time high. I talked last month about A&W’s perception of what ‘Better Beef’ represents, despite… Read More

Modernizing Canada’s varietal registration system needed to happen — the removal of kernel visual distinguishability and the CWB’s monopoly in recent years has changed crop variety development in Canada. The registration system needs to evolve with it in order to stay current and competitive. Read More: Upov 91, Gerry Rits and Canada’s variety registration system… Read More

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

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

 

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