Rules taking effect with the new year are expected to make it easier for Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies to qualify for provincial grants in the face of a membership crunch. The province on Friday confirmed amendments to regulation 16, attached to its Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act, kick in effective Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023). […] Read more
Ontario trims minimum memberships for ag, hort societies
Eligibility thresholds for provincial operating grants lowered
Bolivia farm region blocks borders, grain transport in protests
Santa Cruz/La Paz | Reuters — Protesters in Bolivia’s farming region of Santa Cruz are blocking highways out of the province, threatening to snarl the domestic transport of grains and food, as anger simmers following the arrest of local governor Luis Camacho. The region, a stronghold of the conservative opposition to socialist President Luis Arce, […] Read more
U.S. FDA reported weighing CBD regulation in food, supplements
Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to make recommendations on how to regulate the use of popular cannabis compound CBD in food and supplements, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing agency officials. After weighing the evidence on the compound’s safety, the FDA will decide within months how to […] Read more
Schoepp: The risks to our food system are many and must be addressed
Supply chain issues and inflation have both revealed serious fractures that won’t fix themselves
Reading Time: 3 minutes Our food system was certainly stretched during the pandemic. There were gaps and delays, but food was delivered. Fast forward to now, when we are experiencing massive inflation and the same gaps still appear, but with additional production challenges. Affordability is the new barrier to food in a system that experts describe as volatile and […] Read more
Opinion: Avian influenza is a threat that’s flying under the radar
The response has been strong, but this outbreak has caused massive losses and poses an ongoing threat
Reading Time: 3 minutes Avian flu deserves more media attention. The illness affecting our poultry sector has become a real problem. Unlike previous strains, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread across the country, raising fears that it could become endemic in wild birds, no less. A nightmare. This year alone, avian flu has infected approximately 200 farms with […] Read more
EDC executive to lead Farm Credit Canada
Justine Hendricks to replace retiring Michael Hoffort
Canada’s federal farm lender is importing its next chief executive from Export Development Canada. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced the appointment of Justine Hendricks, EDC’s senior vice-president and chief corporate sustainability officer since 2019, as FCC’s new CEO effective Jan. 30, 2023. As CEO, Hendricks replaces Michael Hoffort, an FCC staffer since […] Read more
Consumers look to their wallets – and social media – when it comes to food
Local, sustainable and whipped coffee is trendy, but it’s more complicated when it comes to meat
Reading Time: 3 minutes Local food is still a hot trend and consumers are moving to the middle ground when it comes to eating meat. Those are two takeaways for farmers from the latest Nourish Trend Report from Toronto food and beverage marketing agency Nourish Food Marketing. The food sector is on the brink of great change, said company […] Read more
U.S. brings new Canadian dairy tariff rate quota complaint
'Additional aspects' of Canadian rules now at issue
U.S. federal trade officials plan a whole other challenge of Canada’s allocations of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on U.S. dairy imports — on top of a challenge they’re already seeking — saying they’ve now found Canada’s revised policies are problematic in new and different ways. Canada in May published revisions of its TRQ allocation policies […] Read more
Rice could grow nice in southern Alberta
The harvest was a bust, but with more suitable varieties the Asian staple could be grown, trial determines
Reading Time: 3 minutes While it wasn’t the success hoped for, researchers have proven that rice can be grown under irrigation in southern Alberta. The plants failed to reach harvest, but project lead Michelle Konschuh said they did surprisingly well for a crop rarely grown in Canada. “We didn’t quite get to the finish line,” said the irrigated crop […] Read more
Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy
Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee
The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March […] Read more
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