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 »
Tag: Cam Dahl
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 »
Producers, Grain Companies Welcome Plan to Extend Rail Rules for Moving Grain
Producer and grain industry groups are applauding the federal government’s plan to extend measures meant to keep grain moving to market by rail. Several provisions implemented during the grain backlog in 2014 as part of Bill C-30, the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, are scheduled to be repealed on August 1, 2016. On Friday, Ag… Read more »
Warburtons Adds End-User Perspective to Cereals Canada
British baking company and long-time customer of Canadian wheat Warburtons is the latest grain industry player to take a seat at the Cereals Canada table. “It is critical that Cereals Canada have a strong link to the needs of end-use customers,” said Cam Dahl, president of the cereal crop value chain group, earlier this week…. Read more »
Getting Wheat Research Priorities Right
A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada Saskatoon recently saw a meeting of some of the most important minds in Canadian wheat research. A workshop was held that included public and private researchers from across Canada, farmers from coast to coast, and Canadian exporters. Our goal was to move forward on the… Read more »
Ergot in Egypt — One Event or Symptom?
A guest editorial submitted by Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada: It is baffling. Egypt is a country facing food shortages yet they are blocking wheat shipments from around the world. Their quarantine agency has decided to impose a zero tolerance for ergot. This is despite the fact that the contracts signed by Egypt’s central buying… Read more »
Pre-Harvest and Storage Decisions Critical for Keeping Grain Export Ready: Cereals Canada
Cereals Canada is reminding producers and the grain industry to take steps to keep unwanted products and material out of Canadian grain. The group, which represents stakeholders from the wheat, barley and oat supply chains, has launched the “Keep it Clean — Cereals” campaign, building off similar messaging from the Canola Council of Canada. “There is a growing… Read more »