Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa in this April 24, 2020 file photo. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Trudeau pledges $252 million in COVID-19 aid for farmers, processors

Dairy commission's credit line extended for storage program

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will invest $252 million to help some of the country’s farming and food processing sectors weather the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, adding more money could come later if needed. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, one of Canada’s biggest farm groups, asked Ottawa last week for an […] Read more

File photo of cattle on pasture. Several drought-stricken rural municipalities in Manitoba have declared an agriculture disaster, in an effort to kickstart action by senior levels of government. (MikeEntertainment/iStock.Getty Images)

RMs declare ag disaster in Manitoba’s Interlake

Twelve rural municipalities in Manitoba’s Interlake and WestLake regions have declared a state of agricultural disaster due to severe dry conditions. The RMs of Alonsa, Armstrong, Bifrost-Riverton, Coldwell, Ethelbert, Fisher, Grahamdale, Lakeshore, McCreary, Ste. Rose, West Interlake and Woodlands announced the motion in a news release Thursday. The municipalities are calling on the province to […] Read more


(BC.RCMP-grc.gc.ca)

AgriRecovery offered for B.C. wildfire costs

British Columbia ranchers and farmers who lost pasture or cropland or had to move livestock out of the path of wildfires this year may be eligible for AgriRecovery funding. The federal and B.C. governments on Thursday announced a new AgriRecovery program worth up to $5 million to help defray “extraordinary costs incurred” due to wildfires […] Read more

Horses that escaped from an enclosure onto a road near an RCMP checkpoint in an evacuated zone at Williams Lake are calmed and walked to safety on July 17. (WilliamsLake.bc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca)

AgriRecovery in place for farms in B.C. wildfire zones

Farmers and ranchers whose operations were hit or evacuated during British Columbia’s particularly destructive wildfire season can expect up to $20 million in AgriRecovery funds toward repair, rebuilding and livestock feeding costs. The federal and B.C. governments on Tuesday laid out more details for the 60-40 cost-shared program, which was announced in principle in mid-August. […] Read more


Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham met Wednesday in Victoria. (Photo courtesy AAFC)

Options weighed for AgriRecovery in B.C. fire zones

Officials in British Columbia are now gauging what sorts of damages and expenses can be covered through an AgriRecovery plan for ranchers and farmers affected by wildfires. The federal and B.C. governments announced Wednesday they’re “working together to quickly assess the extraordinary costs farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Quarantined Alberta ranches to get AgriRecovery

Ranchers in southeastern Alberta having to feed and maintain quarantined cattle they can’t move or sell can expect a federal/provincial AgriRecovery plan to help cover those costs in the next few days. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and his Alberta counterpart Oneil Carlier on Wednesday announced producers faced with “extraordinary costs” due to federal quarantines […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More culls, quarantines added to bovine TB probe

Thousands more cattle and calves in southeastern Alberta are now booked to be destroyed, as a search continues for animals that had contact with one or more of six tuberculosis-infected Alberta cattle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced its “herd” of animals known to have commingled with the TB-infected cattle has expanded to […] Read more

An apple tree branch with “scorched” leaves after a severe fire blight infection. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

N.S. fruit, maple syrup producers get AgriRecovery

The federal and Nova Scotia provincial governments will put up AgriRecovery funding for tree fruit growers dealing with fire blight, and maple syrup producers dealing with snow damage. The two governments on Tuesday announced separate AgriRecovery programs, budgeted at up to $2.69 million for fruit growers and up to $950,000 for maple syrup producers. The […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Man. cattle producers get AgriRecovery feed assistance

Eligible livestock producers in parts of Manitoba excessively soaked during the growing season will get federal/provincial backing to buy and haul feed and forage. The federal and provincial governments on Wednesday announced AgriRecovery funding for what they call the 2014 Canada-Manitoba Forage Shortfall and Transportation Assistance Initiative. The program will offer support worth up to […] Read more

It was a good day for snowmobiling on Sept. 9 but not for harvesting. Almost two-year-old Blake Nelson is pictured in front of his Uncle 
Jay Schultz’s unharvested 
wheat field near Rosebud.  
Photo: Craig Nelson

Good times gone, farm aid back on the agenda

Alberta farm leaders have been cool to seeking additional aid, but wicked weather
 and plunging prices may be changing that view

Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta farm leaders have stayed on the sidelines while their Prairie counterparts have been lobbying for improved farm support programs — but that may soon change. This month’s snowstorm and early frost coupled with the massive American harvest that has “hammered” the futures markets has dramatically changed the outlook in Alberta, said Greg Porozni, president […] Read more