Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – I’m not the one to come up with the line used in this article’s headline, but I wish I was. It is a succinct way of describing one of the most challenging policy aspects of sustainability. It is difficult, even impossible, to change farming practices aimed at improving environmental sustainability when experiencing […] Read more

Opinion: It’s hard to be green while in the red
Farmers must make money before they can invest in sustainability and the carbon price isn’t helping

New Crop Missions deliver many benefits
The unique collaboration between the grain commission, Cigi, and farmers is more than just a marketing effort
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian cereals industry is united in reaching out to international customers. The 2016 Canadian Wheat New Crop Missions sessions kicked off on Nov. 10 with a seminar for Canadian millers, the largest buyer of Canadian wheat. By the time the missions are over later this month, they will have reached customers in 17 countries in […] Read more
Why go on trade missions?
Consistency and high food safety standards have given Canada a ‘quality advantage’ in countries like China
Reading Time: 3 minutes I recently returned from a trade mission to China led by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who was accompanied by other federal and provincial government officials, and representatives from barley, beef, pork, blueberries, flax and other sectors. Trade missions like this one to China are not unique, and follow closely to recent trade missions to Korea […] Read more
Country-of-origin labelling: The fight goes on
It’s the kind of non-tariff trade barrier Canadian exporters can expect to see more of in the future
Reading Time: 3 minutes Not long ago, tariffs were the key barriers to Canadian beef exports. Tariff barriers are still significant problems (Korea for example), but as tariff barriers fall, countries are getting more creative in building border barriers. In some ways, it makes me nostalgic for the good old days when our market access efforts primarily consisted of […] Read moreBeef producers must engage the public on animal welfare
Get involved Development of a new code of practice means producers must participate in the process
Reading Time: 2 minutes Animal welfare. These two words often evoke a strong response from livestock producers across the country who feel that their way of life is under siege by those who don’t understand them and don’t grasp what they do for society. One just has to look at a few headlines to understand why farmers may feel […] Read more