Reading Time: 2 minutes Politicians are not usually known for stating the obvious, but Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths did just that and was roundly condemned by a prominent daily newspaper for doing so. In responding to a question from a Liberal MLA about taxation, Minister Griffiths pointed out that it is rural Albertans who do all the work, […] Read more
Minister upsets urban media
Irrigation is the elephant in the room
Questions The industry will need to justify why it takes up 60 per cent of the province’s water allocation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The new political buzzword with the provincial government is “conversation.” It’s a word hatched by Premier Redford who seems to mention it at every opportunity. In the past we had roundtable discussions, town-hall meetings, public consultations, commissions of inquiry, fact-finding tours — we even had kitchen table talks — but now it’s “conversations” with our […] Read moreMeat packing is tough business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Recently an entrepreneur in Manitoba announced that he and a group of investors will be expanding an existing small abattoir into a 1,000-head-per-week slaughter plant. The investment will be to the tune of $13 million. The announcement came with the usual statements about the need for a local processor that could serve both Manitoba cattle […] Read more
Trade talks seem to be going according to the EU script
Reading Time: 4 minutes Recent news that the European Union (EU) and Canada free trade negotiations are at the final hour, but have stalled on agriculture-related issues should come as no surprise. Both sides maintained rigid ag trade positions well before the discussions started four years ago. Negotiations on the topic seemed to be carefully dodged as other non-agricultural […] Read more
A curious case of double standard
Reading Time: 2 minutes There seems to be a double standard between lettuce and beef when it comes to reporting foodborne pathogens. An incident last summer seems outrageous considering the cavalier approach of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the lack of any reporting by the mainstream media. The fact that this may the first time you read about […] Read more
Checkoff extension is at an impasse, but there is hope
Reading Time: 3 minutes By press time there was still no indication as to the fate of the mandatory $1 national cattle checkoff. Time is running out as there is a deadline to meet for government regulations to be put into place to renew the mandatory checkoff. The stumbling block is the memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the Alberta […] Read more
Political misstep may backfire
Reading Time: 2 minutes A recent press release from the National Farmers Union (NFU) came as something of a surprise. It declared that the NFU was “…proud to declare its solidarity with Idle No More…” Many readers of that proclamation probably wondered what a farm organization had in common with a protest group whose goals are obscure at best. […] Read more
The Agriculture Department may not be spared
Reading Time: 4 minutes Whenever energy prices take a dive in Alberta, cutbacks to government spending are sure to follow. Reports indicate that the provincial government will be short over $3 billion in tax revenue due to depressed bitumen prices. Deputy ministers have been ordered to come up with budget reductions of 10 per cent for their respective departments. […] Read more
The property rights battle goes on and on… again
Opposition fodder It could, or rather should, have been done with a lot more buy-in from the rural landowning public
Reading Time: 3 minutes Just when you thought it was out of sight and out of mind, the PC government brings back the issue that lost them the rural south, and almost much of the rest of rural Alberta in the last election. Bill 2 — the Responsible Energy Development Act covers energy-industry-related issues, but also includes the consolidation […] Read moreABP annual hears checkoff discussions still underway
Frustration ABP concerned that the producers’ side didn’t get enough attention during the XL recall
Reading Time: 2 minutes Three industry issues dominated much of the discussions both inside and outside the meeting hall at the Alberta Beef Producers annual meeting earlier this month. By far of biggest interest was the recent XL Foods recall and the subsequent involvement of JBS in taking over management of the Brooks plant. ABP chairman Doug Sawyer expressed […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
