Aug 20 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — OTTAWA—A team of crop scientists at the University of Saskatchewan played a leading role in sequencing the genome of wheat variety that could lead to better varieties in the future. “Essentially we have completed the wheat genome jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces put together in their correct positions and order, providing an enormous advantage […]
Aug 14 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — The department needs to get in step with other countries, CAHI says. A Health Canada plan to impose service fees on human and veterinary medicines will keep many treatments for farm and companion animals out of the country, says Jean Szkotnicki, President of the Canadian Animal Health Institute. The Canadian animal health market is 2.5 […]
Aug 1 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Trade spats and U.S. tariff challenges set the stage for the session. OTTAWA—Canada will host a meeting in October of trade ministers from countries supporting reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its rules for ensuring fair international trade. Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, has invited ministers from around the world […]
Jul 27 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — CFIA needs to keep investigating how unknown GM variety ended up in Alberta roadside. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency needs to keep investigating the still unknown variety of genetically modified wheat found in Alberta last year, says the Canadian co-author of an article that speculates on who could have planted it. Rob Wager of Vancouver […]
Jul 24 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Products need to meet changing consumer food expectations around the world, it says. The Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table, set up as part of the federal government’s innovation agenda, has set a hefty agenda for governments and the sector to work on to ensure Canada expands its role as a global food supplier. The table is […]
Jul 19 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Having inspired the agrifood industry to aim for a bigger role in feeding the world, Dominc Barton has spelled out four growth barriers and four building blocks the sector needs to deal with to succeed. The barriers are an underdeveloped value chain, low productivity, trade impediments and regulatory obstacles to trade with the United States, […]
Jul 18 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — NDP MP has all party backing for his proposal. NDP MP Wayne Stetski’s goal is to make the Friday before Thanksgiving be recognized as Food Day Canada to celebrate the wealth of local food products produced across the country and he’s on a tight Parliamentary time line to make it happen this year. In late […]
Jul 17 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — OTTAWA–Canadian dairy farmers and by implication their fellow poultry producers have an unexpected ally in historian and internationally renowned author John Ralston Saul. Saul came to the defence of Canadian dairy farmers in a recent article in the online publication TruthDig. In an interview with veteran writer Chris Hedges on the sorry state of American […]
Jul 5 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — No clear indication of Ottawa will do next. Other than meetings between Canadian and European cabinet ministers on the issue, there has been no action by Canada to reinforce its opposition to Italian pasta tariffs that have shut Canadian durum wheat out of what had been a key market. Cam Dahl, President of Cereals Canada, […]
Jul 3 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Trying to make sense of American trade policy under the Trump administration essentially boils down to understanding that its goal is creating international uncertainty, says a new study by the C.D. Howe Institute. Weaponizing Uncertainty is an unsettling read as its academic authors Meredith Crowley and Dan Ciuriak track the withdrawal from the TPP, its […]
Jun 27 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Using science and technology will be vital to feeding people and protecting the environment. Sustainably needs to be the centrepiece of food policy development, says the final report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) on what Canada needs to do to reach its $27 billion agrifood export target. The report flowed from regional workshops […]
Jun 26 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Canada should be as critical of American dairy policy as Washington is of the Canadian system. The U.S. attempt to cast itself as a victim of Canadian dairy tariffs is a smokescreen to hide its highly trade-distorting dairy protections, say two agriculture economists. In a policy note distributed by Agri-Food Economic Systems (AFES) based in […]
Jun 22 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Farm groups want passage of the bill to be a priority when Parliament resumes in September. OTTAWA—MPs and Senators can expect to hear plenty from farmers all summer about the importance of quickly passing the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) bill when they return to Parliament in the fall, farm group representatives vow. They […]
Jun 19 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Labour shortage for rural employers is a major headache. An Alberta-based pork producer says farming operations in Canada face more obstacles and less support than in the United States and are losing ground competitively compared to international competitors. Ray Price, President of Sunterra Farms Ltd., which also has operations in Ontario, South Dakota and Iowa, […]
Jun 18 2018 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Canada has to become better at adding value to food products. The food business is undergoing tremendous change as consumer tastes change and Canada needs to take advantage of that trend, says Don Buckingham, President and CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. “Consumer preferences and retail food markets are changing extremely fast and food […]