Ottawa — Detailed plans of the federal government’s food buyback program are expected soon, according to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ottawa tabbed $50 million of its COVID-19 response funds for agriculture to buy surplus food from farmers and redistribute it to communities in need. The challenge Bibeau and her federal colleagues are faced with is […] Read more
Details on federal food surplus program expected in ‘days’
Ottawa already at work with businesses, minister says
No timeline yet set for BRM reforms
Changes put on hold along with ministers' meeting
Ottawa — Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed any reforms to business risk management (BRM) programs are being delayed. That confirmation came during a wide-ranging media availability Bibeau held Tuesday. In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), said the government is looking at a number of options […] Read more
Not the best of times, but farm income rose in 2019
After a big drop two years ago, net income rose last year — and cannabis became a major crop
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta farm income more than doubled last year. But it’s not as good as it sounds, even if you have been indulging in some of what is suddenly the province’s third-largest cash crop. Net farm income in Alberta in 2019 was just north of $671 million — which is well above the 2018 figure of […] Read more
There’s never been a better time to spruce up your town
Reading Time: 3 minutes Could there be a better time to brighten up your town or hamlet with floral displays, some landscaping, and a bit of tidying up? Organizers of Communities in Bloom say now is the perfect time — and not just because everyone could use a lift during these gloomy times. “The program is ripe for this […] Read more
We can put food at the centre of our national economy
We have a new appreciation for food systems, and a chance to capitalize on our strengths
Reading Time: 3 minutes Nature is the great equalizer. In just three months she took the world from assured continuance along the path of globalization and commercialism to world recognition of one simple fact — we all need to eat. For many years, there have been calls to recognize the importance of agriculture. I have been in that camp, […] Read more
Having an official stewardship plan comes with benefits
Access to grants and the ‘sustainable sourcing’ trend are key reasons for an environmental farm plan
Reading Time: 4 minutes A lot of Alberta farmers have an environmental farm plan, but many are gathering dust on a shelf and are no longer valid. But having a valid environmental farm plan (EFP) has several benefits and renewing one has become easier, say officials who run the program. A constant in Alberta since 2003, there are 4,500 […] Read more
U.N. expert says ‘some are starving’ in North Korea
Estimated 40 per cent of North Koreans need humanitarian aid, WFP says
Geneva | Reuters — A United Nations human rights expert voiced alarm on Tuesday at “widespread food shortages and malnutrition” in North Korea, made worse by a nearly five-month border closure with China and strict quarantine measures against COVID-19. Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, […] Read more
Crisis creates opportunity to attract badly needed workers
Agriculture and the food sector need to seize the day and find ways to reach out to displaced workers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Working remotely from home has been one of the most prominent changes caused by the pandemic, but there are other workforce shifts in play — including ones that will affect agriculture, says a senior vice-president of RBC. “One of the things we’re detecting and hearing from a number of sectors is that this crisis has […] Read more
Tam concerned over alcohol, junk food use during pandemic
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s top health officer on Sunday expressed concern over higher consumption of alcohol and junk food during the coronavirus epidemic, suggesting this could be a sign of worsening mental health. The total number of Canadians killed by the coronavirus edged up by 0.9 per cent to 7,773 from 7,703 on Saturday, […] Read more
Pandemic may strain rural community resources, panel warns
Enthusiasm for telecommuting could later benefit rural areas, if 'digital divide' can be bridged
The COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada’s response to it, have highlighted how rural communities need different strategies than their urban counterparts to provide social services on which the public relies. The Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph hosted a virtual panel in May to discuss COVID-19’s social impacts, in which researchers from a variety […] Read more