Ontario is moving ahead with changes to the AgriStability program for farmers in the province, regardless of the federal government’s support or the agreement of other provinces. Last November, the federal government proposed removing the Reference Margin Limit (RML) and increasing the compensation rate from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. Because of how the… Read More

The fourteen day closure of an Olymel hog plant in Quebec has Ontario pork producers scrambling to find a slaughter destination for their finished hogs. Ontario producers normally ship around 20,000 pigs to Quebec for processing each week. The plant at Yamachiche, Que. and its 1000 employees have not been operating since March 29 after… Read More

Olymel has temporarily closed one of its pork processing plants in Quebec after multiple employees at the facility tested positive for COVID-19. The large pork production company has decided to close its facility at Yamachiche, Que. for 14 days as of March 29 after nine employees were confirmed to have the virus. All employees who… Read More

As trade talks among several countries continue to rock the markets, the Ontario government is stepping up to help those that export food and agri-products to pursue new markets. The provincial government will begin accepting applications for its Market Access Initiative, a new cost-share funding initiative that’s open to all Ontario food and agri-product exporters…. Read More

When your back’s against the wall, and talking and reasoning isn’t working, sometimes a 1-2 punch seems like the only forward. For example, in recent times, some Ontario farm groups — grain farmers, in particular — have used what appeared to be a pretty tough approach in dealing with pressure over neonicotinoid pesticides. People in… Read More