Reading Time: 3 minutes The North American Free Trade Agreement has been a boon for Canadian agricultural producers, facilitating cross-border trade and commerce, and fuelling the economic performance and growth of this highly export-driven sector. It has achieved this mainly through the continued reduction of tariffs on agricultural goods, but also through measures addressing non-tariff trade barriers, sanitary and […] Read more
Prairie grain growers have a big stake in NAFTA talks
Trade deal has produced great benefits and can be made even better
‘Public trust’ conference aims to find ways to win back consumers
The popularity of campaigns attacking conventional agriculture shows that the industry needs to do more, says organizer
Reading Time: 2 minutes Public trust is eroding in Canada, and farmers — along with others in the value chain — need to fight back, says the head of a new ag organization aimed at winning back confused consumers. “The whole industry needs to know a whole bunch more about consumers,” said Kim McConnell, an Okotoks-based marketing expert and […] Read more
New online resource for processors and producers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has a new online resource called Meeting Customer Requirements that guides producers and processors through the necessary steps to consistently meet market standards, customer, and regulatory requirements. The resource has four modules that each take 15 to 20 minutes to complete. It helps producers and processors evaluate whether their business is able […] Read more
Global grain companies like what they see in central Alberta
GrainsConnect Canada is building a new $30-million elevator at Huxley while Agrocorp is expanding its Innisfail operation
Reading Time: 2 minutes The investment in Alberta grains sector continues. GrainsConnect Canada has announced its second elevator for the province while Agrocorp Processing is moving ahead with a $6.5-million expansion of its local grain- and pulse-handling facility. “What we are actually doing is building a new plant beside the old one,” said Colin Topham, Agrocorp’s managing director, adding […] Read more
Scrapping deferred cash tickets could ‘screw up’ grain-marketing system
It’s not just farmers who will be hurt if Ottawa axes tax break — the entire grain sector will be dramatically affected, says MNP
Reading Time: 4 minutes Removing the deferred cash ticket system won’t just hit farmers at tax time — it could also affect the entire supply chain, interrupting the flow of grain to international markets. “If they take this deferred cash ticket system away, you’re going to have farmers refusing to move grain when we need it to move,” said […] Read more
Lethbridge County ‘head tax’ ruled legal
Feeders challenged the $3-per-head business tax on feedlots as unfair, but a judge said the municipal act allows it
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lethbridge County’s controversial ‘head tax’ will be staying put after a judge ruled the tax is legal. “We’re happy that the judge upheld the business tax,” said Lethbridge County Reeve Lorne Hickey. “He felt that under the Municipal Government Act, we were fully capable of putting that tax in place.” The $3-per-head business tax — […] Read more
Special crop boom sparks expansion for farmer-controlled company
Alberta’s Providence Grain is doubling the capacity of its container facility at the Port of Vancouver
Reading Time: 3 minutes A big jump in special crop acres in Western Canada has grain shippers looking to the future — and for Columbia Containers, that future looks bigger, better, and more high tech. “We’re replacing our existing facility on the same Port of Vancouver property and turning it into a state-of-the-art transload facility,” said Columbia Containers general […] Read more
Grain commission proposes 24 per cent cut to major user fees
But Alberta Barley wants fees eliminated for a year while Alberta Wheat wants better testing at elevators
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Grain Commission will cut its two major user fees Aug. 1 — but an Alberta farm group says it needs to do more to whittle down a massive surplus accumulated over the last three years. If implemented, the combined fees for officially inspecting and weighing ships exporting Canadian grain will drop by 44 […] Read more
New board put in charge of province’s scandal-plagued crop insurer
Many well-known faces in the ag community are on the new board of the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ten months after dismissing the board of directors of the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation, Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier has finally named its replacements. And the board’s first action will be to find a new chief executive officer to replace one who was suspended with pay last June after the provincial auditor found a host of […] Read more
Olds College to create ‘smart agriculture’ centre
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College has been given a $16-million donation it will use to create an institute specializing in ‘smart agriculture.’ The Werklund Agriculture Institute will use big data, technology, and enhanced Internet connectivity to increase the quality and quantity of agricultural production. The funding is a gift from David Werklund, an entrepreneur best known for his […] Read more
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