Draft regulations for Canada’s new carbon market show Canadian farmers won’t receive credit for removing any greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the atmosphere prior to 2017. Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson on Friday announced the offset market, to be known as the Federal Greenhouse Gas Offset System. A 60-day public consultation period on draft regulations […] Read more

No credit expected for farmers’ past work in new carbon market
Work on protocols for specific projects to begin this spring, department says

New EU import curbs on fruit not Canada-specific
Ottawa | Reuters — New European Union rules that could block shipments of Canadian cherries and other fruits to the 28-nation grouping apply to all countries and “was not unusual,” a senior Canadian official said on Friday. The clarification from federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau came a day after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) […] Read more

Cannabis edibles clear for legal launch before year-end
Food products containing cannabis are expected to be on the retail market by mid-December at the earliest under new federal regulations announced Friday. Health Canada on Friday announced amendments to the Cannabis Regulations will be published June 26 to come into force Oct. 17, laying out rules for legal production and sale of edible cannabis, […] Read more

New federal standard to expand beer ingredient options
More variety in allowable ingredients and more requirements for declarations are now part of the federal rules on what can be called beer in Canada. The federal government on May 1 announced “modernized” beer standards under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) — the rules laying out the requirements to be met by a product […] Read more

Trucker shortage troublesome for Prairie cattle industry
CNS Canada — As large volumes of cattle make their way to western Canadian auction marts this fall, buyers are having problems finding truckers to haul them. Those problems may get worse in the future, as federal regulations for cattle hauling could possibly change. “I would say it’s worse this year than other years so […] Read more

Don’t worry — drones aren’t built for spying
Despite what you may have heard, drones are too noisy, too tricky to manoeuvre, and too low resolution for spying
Reading Time: 3 minutes Markus Weber was out in the countryside taking aerial shots of some wind turbines when a gun-toting farmer drove up and accused him of spying with his drone. “It had occurred to me before the people might have privacy concerns, but that really drove home how little understanding there is of the capabilities of these […] Read more

Brazil cracking down on unmonitored agriculture planes
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian federal prosecutors have demanded civil aviation authorities change regulations to increase oversight of agriculture airplanes such as crop dusters, which they claim can be used to smuggle drugs and agro-chemicals. Prosecutors are calling for the mandatory introduction of a transponder equipment to monitor such planes, and have suggested new […] Read more

Industry still looking for new NH3 tank rule break
Fertilizer Canada and the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) say there will be enough anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks available to supply the fertilizer to farmers during this growing season. New Transport Canada regulations came into force Jan. 12, which affect the frequency of hydrostatic testing and visual inspection of ammonia nurse and applicator tanks and […] Read more

Talks wrap on new Canadian internal trade deal
Farm groups across Canada expect a new interprovincial trade agreement to clear paths for more trade in Canadian-grown agrifood and other farmed products within the country, reducing the need for imports. Federal, provincial and territorial ministers on Friday announced they’ve concluded talks on a new Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), which on July 1 will […] Read more

Livestock transport regulations up for comment
The public can comment until mid-February on proposed new livestock transport regulations which the government says will help Canada line up with international standards and limit how long livestock can go unfed during shipping. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced amendments to the federal Health of Animals Regulations dealing with transportation have been […] Read more