The U.S. Senate passed the 956 page, $956.4 billion Farm Bill on Tuesday, following last week’s House approval, and is now awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature. The bill has been hugely controversial for many reasons, including Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), which remained in the 2014 Farm Bill despite reaction from eight major lobby groups… Read More
Tag: Gerry Ritz
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced today that the government will take action on recommendations from the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG), in an effort to increase the competitiveness of the grain supply chain. Immediate actions include both pursuing improvements in reporting frequency through the Grain Monitoring Program and providing an ongoing forum for representatives to… Read More
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at Brandon’s Ag Days yesterday to announce more than $3.7 million in funding awarded to projects spearheaded by the Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA). The funding is targeted at varietal development and to help oat producers sell more of their crop in the global marketplace. POGA will… Read More
This week started out very different from most weeks, as word came that the Minister of Agriculture would be making a “very large announcement” in the afternoon. I shuffled my schedule and packed my gear and braved the cold to be in the audience when ag minister Gerry Ritz announced Bill C-18, the Canadian Agricultural… Read More
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz was on hand at the Canterra Seeds warehouse in Winnipeg, Man., to announce the tabling of Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act. The Act addresses a total of nine areas where Canada’s regulations need “modernizing, amending and streamlining of processes”. While there isn’t a monetary figure attached to… Read More
Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was in Winnipeg, Man., today to announce the tabling of Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act. The act covers a host of agriculture-related regulations — a total of nine — with an eye to “amending, streamlining and modernizing” Canada’s regulations as they relate to several areas of agriculture. From plant breeding… Read More
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
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
The Government of Canada released a statement today regarding formally asking the World Trade Organization to establish a compliance panel on U.S. Country of Origin Labeling. The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, today issued the following statement on U.S. Country of Origin Labelling… Read More