May 23 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Opposition parties supported motion by Ben Lobb. Ottawa—A bill to remove the federal carbon tax on natural gas and propane used in grain drying and other farm purposes is off to the Commons agriculture committee for detailed study following its approval in the Commons. The bill from Ben Lobb, Conservative MP for Huron-Bruce, passed […]
May 18 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Dairy processors welcome the plan. Ottawa—Canada has proposed changes to its dairy tariff rate quota (TRQ) system to meet U.S. complaints about the one the government implemented after the CUSMA trade was struck. International Trade Minister Mary Ng said a CUSMA dispute panel report issued last Dec. 20 concluded that Canada’s exclusive allocation of […]
May 17 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Government needs to better understand what farmers have done. Ottawa—Grain farmers want to be seen as heroes rather than villains when it comes to protecting the environment through their efforts to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration, says Susie Miller, Executive Director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC). In conversations with more […]
May 16 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Eastern Canadian producers will get additional production opportunities. Ottawa—Consumer demand for dairy products has remained strong despite the price increases triggered by the higher payments for producers announced earlier this year by the Canadian Dairy Commission, says a forecast issued by Farm Credit Canada. The jump in the farm gate price led to higher […]
May 13 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Livestock and cropping numbers are up. Ottawa—The first data emerging from the 2021 Census of Agriculture shows there were 189,874 farms last year, a drop of 1.9 per cent from 2016, says Statistics Canada. While total farm acreage decreased by 3.2 per cent from 2016, the total area for hay and field crops increased […]
May 12 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Similar action underway in the U.S. Ottawa—The main freight railways operating in Canada would have to file detailed freight handling information with Transport Canada under changes proposed by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. The information on waybill, traffic, and service and performance would show their customers and government how well the carriers are moving freight […]
May 10 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Study should look at the state of all soils in Canada. Ottawa—An examination of the state of Canada’s soils by the Senate agriculture committee is long overdue and should be closely followed by the agrifood community, says Rene Van Acker, Dean of the Ontario Agriculture College at the University of Guelph. He said the […]
May 7 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — CFIA will perform more field inspections this year. Ottawa—The federal government is offering some additional support measures for PEI potato growers as they prepare for spring planting while watching wearily to see if the U.S. will lift all its restrictions against their products because of a few findings of potato wart virus last fall. […]
May 4 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Farmers and others can support them with letters to the government. Ottawa—Seven agriculture groups are seeking support from farmers and the public for federal consultations on changes to the Pest Control Products Act to result in a science-based pesticide regulatory system. Cereals Canada, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Grain Growers of Canada, Canola Council of […]
May 3 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Farmers should be in a revenue neutral position when it comes to fuel taxes. Ottawa—The federal government needs to acknowledge farmers have worked hard to control their greenhouse gas emissions and forcing them to pay the carbon tax on some food-producing activities can reduce their international competitiveness, says the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA). […]
May 2 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Ontario reaches 19 quarantines in late April. Ottawa-The supply of chicken, turkey and eggs to consumers remains steady despite a rising number of poultry farms and backyard flocks in many provinces found contaminated with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), say producers and processors. Jean-Michel Laurin, President and CEO of the Canadian Poultry and Egg […]
Apr 28 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Transportation problems taint Canada’s supplier reputation. Ottawa—The Grain Transportation Monitor has added his voice to calls for tackling the shortage of shipping containers, which is harming agrifood and other exports. Mark Hemmes, President of Edmonton-based Quorum Corp., also told the Commons agriculture committee that the railways need to be held to a greater level […]
Apr 27 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Asks Bibeau to support the research plan. Ottawa—A Steering Committee to guide the formation of a National Strategy for Agri-Food Research and Innovation has been selected by the Agri-Food Innovation Council (AIC). The committee members represent a good swath of the agrifood community and more including provincial representatives will be added, says AIC CEO […]
Apr 26 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Independent grocers are vital to smaller communities and rural areas. Ottawa—Canada’s food supply chain is suffering from combat fatigue after two years of pandemic, border blockades and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, says Gary Sands, senior vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers. As well, it has had to cope with the […]
Apr 25 2022 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Ottawa—Canadian-raised beef has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world and the growth in sustainable production should further improve that performance, says Andrea Stroeve-Sawa, a Director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. (CRSB). A study by Deloitte LLP in 2016 found that Canadian beef’s output of greenhouse gases was then less than […]