Reading Time: 2 minutes China’s near-total ban on Canadian canola seed dominated the news cycle in the past year. “The biggest challenge we faced through 2019 was the blockage of canola seed shipments to China,” said Jim Everson, president of Canola Council of Canada. “China is, of course, a very significant market for canola seed, oil, and meal, but […] Read more
The Year That Was: China punishes Prairie farmers
For crop growers, China’s canola seed ban was the big news story of 2019
Manitoba gathering data to press case for exempting grain drying from federal carbon tax
The Manitoba government is gathering data to make the case for exempting grain drying fuels from the federal government’s carbon tax. “So we’ll get the numbers together and then to (federal agriculture) Minister (Marie-Claude) Bibeau and we’ll continue to lobby on behalf of our ag producers,” Manitoba’s Agriculture and Resource Development Minister Blaine Pederson said […] Read more
Certificate needed to avoid carbon tax on fuel
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers is urging farmers to fill out a fuel charge exemption form before Jan. 1, when the federal carbon tax kicks in for the province. The carbon tax (officially called the Federal Fuel Charge) isn’t levied on gasoline and light fuel oil for farm machinery “for the purpose of farming or travelling from […] Read more
Lift carbon tax on grain drying, say farm groups
Fuels used for drying grain have not been exempted from the federal carbon tax
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm groups have fired off urgent appeals for government financial help for producers struggling with a weather-disrupted harvest made worse by the imposition of the federal carbon tax on fuel used to dry grain. A coalition of Alberta commodity groups as well as the Grain Farmers of Ontario sent requests directly to Prime Minister Justin […] Read more
Throne speech kicks off Parliament with nod to agriculture
The federal throne speech opening the first session of Canada’s 43rd Parliament further committed the Liberal minority government to combating climate change, supporting natural resource sectors and removing international trade barriers. Including a pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the speech, delivered Thursday in Ottawa, showed the government again demonstrating its commitment to a […] Read more
Alberta’s new farm safety act gets warm response
New act exempts most Alberta farms from workplace rules, removes right to unionize
Reading Time: 3 minutes There were no surprises when the United Conservative government unveiled its new farm workplace safety legislation — and that’s one of the things that farm leaders like about it. “It’s making farming easier,” Alberta Canola chair John Guelly said in contrasting the new legislation with the contentious version brought in by the previous NDP government. […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Impeachment process stifles markets
MarketsFarm — U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings have dominated headlines and stalled progress in numerous trade developments, leaving the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) starved of meaningful news. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) has yet to be ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives. The trade pact, meant to replace the North American Free Trade […] Read more
Bibeau remains federal agriculture minister in shuffle
Updated, Nov. 21— Quebec MP Marie-Claude Bibeau retains her role as federal minister of agriculture and agri-food in Wednesday’s cabinet shake-up for the Liberals’ minority government. Bibeau will join her colleagues — including returning Transport Minister Marc Garneau and new Labour Minister Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP and former minister for seniors — in having […] Read more
Farm leaders say they understand the need for spending restraint
Province’s Ag Ministry will see deep cuts but Devin Dreeshen says the money can be found by finding efficiencies
Reading Time: 5 minutes It is the biggest cut in government spending since the days of Ralph Klein — but Alberta’s agriculture minister calls it ‘trimming’ and farm groups are not raising a hue and cry. “We’ve trimmed our spending this year by nine per cent by going through every program that we’ve had within the ministry to find […] Read more
Are you prepared to do more with less agricultural research?
That’s the question farm and research groups are facing as government and industry funding falls
Reading Time: 4 minutes There will be less government money and a renewed focus on boosting productivity on the farm, but the details of the province’s new plan for ag research are still up in the air. “We’d like to get to a point where we have a long-term vision for agricultural research — one that’s designed to be […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
