Alberta Agriculture Deputy Minister, John Knapp, spoke to producers about how Alberta Agriculture is putting a strategy in place to reconnect with rural Alberta and help to enable success for members of the livestock value chain. Two examples that he gave were: Creating an irrigation department that focuses on improving the efficiency of water application… Read More
Category: Agriculture Policy
Yesterday, I spent some time talking to Dr. Danny LeRoy, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Lethbridge. We spoke at great length about the economy and the affect it will have on agriculture. I was speaking to Dr. LeRoy for research that I was doing for my Grainews column. To say that Dr. LeRoy… Read More
Yesterday, New Mexico Governor, Bill Richardson withdrew his name from the appointment of Commerce Secretary due to a federal probe investigating campaign financing and an ethical business practices. According to very reliable sources, the NY Times is reporting tonight that Tom Vilsack may get the Commerce Secretary job instead. Before your head begins to spin let… Read More
Last week, Mexico cut off the imports of US pork and beef from 30 US plants owned by Tyson, Smithfield Foods, JBS and Cargill. This is in addition to Mexico joining Canada on December 19th to file a complaint with the WTO regarding COOL. Reportedly, the ban had to do with technical and sanitary issues… Read More
Yesterday on Call of the Land, an Alberta Radio Show, there was an interview with the Honorable George Groeneveld, the Alberta Agriculture Minister. Known for his straight forward answers Mr. Groeneveld discusses the highlights of 2008. In the interview he discusses trade with Asia, the implementation of ALMA and ongoing issues with the WTO. This… Read More
I stumbled across this today while I was scanning my news feeds. This video is several years old because it was taken when Tom Vilsack was the Governor of Iowa. I really hope that the new Agricultural Secretary learns some truths about Canada before he meets with Mr. Ritz in the coming year. There is… Read More
It is official, Tom Vilsack is the new Ag Secretary in the United States. Vilsack is the former governor of Iowa and Presidential candidate. Iowa has the second largest agricultural output value in the country, second to only California. If you want to intimately get to know the new secretary, check out his My Space… Read More
Sometimes when you are trying to get a point across you stretch the fabric of reality to invoke thought. Many speakers and writers do this everyday in order to make a point. Well I think the NFU has crossed the line this week as Darrin Qualman made statements regarding Canada’s focus on trade to better agriculture… Read More
Bill Bullard, CEO of R-Calf, was in Washington earlier this week trying to mold the future of the USDA and US trade policy. The meeting was with the Obama-Biden transition team. Based on the shenanigans that R-Calf pulls and showcases how they believe in not letting the facts distort a good story, I am concerned… Read More
Jay Whetter, Editor of Grainews, wrote on his blog this week about some recent announcements from the Growing Forward administration. I think that it is important that you read it and make sure you are abreast with the current stability programs. The post is entitled “More Time to Repay CAIS Overpayments.” I also encourage you… Read More