With the ink still drying on a trade agreement that was supposed to reduce barriers to trade, a protectionist measure has shut out one of Canada’s largest single product exports to Europe. Durum wheat shipments from Canada to Italy have been halted since October, shortly after the Italian government announced it was moving ahead with… Read more »
Tag: Cam Dahl
Farm groups asking Ottawa to intervene in looming rail strike
Prairie grain farmers are urging the federal government to take action to prevent workers with CP Rail from going on strike as early as this weekend. A strike now would only add to the problems with grain movement this crop year. Around 3,000 conductors and engineers who are members in the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, as… Read more »
Market access “probably the biggest issue” facing the grains industry
While much of the focus over the past several months has been on the pulse industry, with India’s tariffs on pulse crops, Canada’s cereal crop value chain has also had its hands full working on market access challenges. Italy, with its new country-of-origin labeling legislation and campaigns spreading doubt about the quality and safety of… Read more »
Wheat School: The threat of ochratoxin A
Canada has a stellar grain safety record and reputation, but the president of Cereals Canada believes there needs to be more awareness of one specific mycotoxin that can show up after the crop is in the bin: ochratoxin A, or OTA. OTA is a potent toxin produced by fungus in storage. It’s considered to be… Read more »
Real science corrects mistakes. Time for IARC to do the same.
A guest editorial submitted by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada: I likely can’t count the number of times I have spoken or written the words “science-based”. It is a mantra of sorts. And for good reason. Technology is the most important competitive advantage for Canadian agriculture. This is how we are going to compete with… Read more »
Progress made on agriculture text in 3rd round of NAFTA talks
Negotiators have made some progress on agriculture-related topics during the third round of NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa this week. A full day of discussions on agriculture took place on Tuesday, with more planned for Wednesday. The U.S. introduced a “consolidated text” for agriculture, compiled from the three countries’ individual submissions, according to a source who… Read more »
Celebrating CETA while obstacles remain
The provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) officially started this week, which had the Canadian trade team in Brussels actually jumping for joy. But the work is far from over, as technical barriers are holding the agriculture and agri-food industry back from reaching their full… Read more »
National priorities laid out for Canadian wheat research
Canada’s wheat industry, working together with the federal government, laid out its priorities for research in a national report unveiled at press conference in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 2017 Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report is being described as the first time the wheat industry has come… Read more »
Conversations taking place on potential Cigi and Cereals Canada amalgamation
The end of the Canadian Wheat Board as a single desk marketer of Canadian wheat and barley five years ago triggered a number of major changes in Canada’s cereal crop industry. Most of the dust stirred up by dismantling the CWB has settled, but there’s potential for more change. Recognizing gaps left by the end… Read more »
Canada considering options to challenge Italian COOL on pasta
Italy’s move to unilaterally impose country of origin labeling (COOL) rules for all packages of pasta sold in the country came as a surprise last week, leaving the Canadian government and durum supply chain exploring options for how they can challenge the measure that threatens Canadian durum wheat exports. Rather than waiting for the European… Read more »
COOL Looms Again, This Time on Durum Exports to Italy
Canadian durum exports to the home of pasta are facing a potential political trade barrier. Italy is moving toward implementing a mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) policy for pasta, similar to the COOL rules the U.S. imposed on beef and pork from 2008 to 2015. The Italian government has drafted regulations that would require all pasta… Read more »
Trade, Trump, and Protectionism
A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada There have been a lot of questions about trade since the U.S. election. The new President promised to take the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and he did just that with his first Executive Order. President Trump has also promised to renegotiate NAFTA, causing… Read more »
Keep an Eye on the Customer While on the Combine
A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada. Warren Buffet, once quipped “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” This is something worth thinking about as we start to prepare for harvest. Canada has a strong reputation… Read more »
Wheat School: Residues, Mycotoxins and Testing to the Part Per Trillion
Inspired by the Canola Council of Canada’s work to encourage best management practices to meet customer expectations, Cereals Canada has launched its own Keep it Clean — Cereals campaign. “Rather than creating a stand-alone but similar brand, Cereals Canada has worked with the Canola Council of Canada to present a consistent message to producers across commodities,”… Read more »
Social License — Where Do I Buy One?
A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada. I saw a cartoon recently that showed an oil company executive at the Department of Motor Vehicles asking if this was the place to buy a social license. If only it actually worked that way. What is “social license” anyways? Generally speaking, it is the… Read more »