An independent agency is needed to coordinate temporary and migrant labour policy, says a Senate committee report released yesterday.

Senate proposes third-party Commission to address systemic TFW issues

Report examines farming women’s safety needs
Safety of children, stress over general safety a common experience for women
Farming women may need more support and programing to address their specific safety needs according to a recent study.

How to safely check your grain bins for spoilage
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canola Council of Canada has had reports of canola spoilage. There are three main ways to check grain bins and prevent it. Be careful and consider safety when climbing bins to probe grain and use appropriate safety equipment such as a harness.

Weather Network predicts mild winter, with caveats
Colder scenario expected for East
MarketsFarm — Strong El Niño conditions that have developed in the Pacific Ocean would typically lead to a milder winter across Canada — but other factors this year could challenge that outlook, according to the winter forecast from The Weather Network, released Wednesday. The winter forecast features a mild start to the season, with a […] Read more

Prairie Forecast: Quiet, mild start to December
Issued Nov. 29, covering Nov. 29 to Dec. 6
The last forecast played out pretty close to what the weather models were predicting, with one small deviation: temperatures ended up being about 2 to 4 C warmer than forecasted. This will be something to keep in mind as we look at this week’s forecast. The forecast is looking rather quiet for this time of […] Read more

Feds plan to ease Underused Housing Tax reporting load
New exemption also proposed for employee housing outside cities
Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest Fall Economic Statement offers to take some of the reporting burden off certain farmers and other Canadians when filing for exemptions from the national Underused Housing Tax (UHT). The federal finance department on Nov. 16 posted its legislative and regulatory proposals for changes to the UHT online and has […] Read more

Ottawa lines up with farmers on right-to-repair
Feds to call for owners to be able to repair their own equipment
The federal government says it’s siding with Canadian farmers on the right-to-repair debate. An announcement this week from the federal government called for an adjustment to the Competition Act that would prevent manufacturers from refusing to provide the means of device and product repair in an “anti-competitive manner.” That declaration came in the government’s 2023 […] Read more

Be ready to help if livestock involved in accidents
First responders can benefit from local livestock knowledge when disaster strikes
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every day hundreds of thousands of animals are transported across Canadian highways without mishap, but every so often, there is an unfortunate accident with animal deaths and injuries. Alberta has developed an emergency network because of the huge numbers of cattle transported to feedlots and packing plants. While this network is invaluable, there’s also an […] Read more

Prairie Forecast: Winter temperatures try to move in
Issued Nov. 22, covering Nov. 22-29
There is a large, deep area of low pressure spinning over the northern half of Hudson Bay along with a building area of high pressure over the Yukon. The counterclockwise rotation around the Hudson Bay low will create a north to northwesterly flow across the Prairies. This will allow the Yukon high to drop southward. […] Read more

El Nino to continue through Northern Hemisphere spring, U.S. forecaster says
Reuters — El Nino weather conditions will continue through the Northern Hemisphere during April-June 2024 with a 62 per cent chance, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. “Above-average sea surface temperatures (SST) across the equatorial Pacific Ocean were indicative of a strong El Nino, with anomalies increasing in the central and east-central Pacific […] Read more