The impact of COVID-19 on the livestock industry has been severe. There were weeks of packers operating at half to no slaughter capacity, market-ready cattle waiting to get on a truck, and the food service sector being crippled due to closures. One of the measures suggested to help mitigate the financial strain by the cattle... Read More
Category: Farm Management
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW Canada) recently presented to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit to advocate for better health and safety protections for migrant workers labouring in the Windsor, Ont., area. The county and area has been hard hit by COVID-19 at local farms and farm businesses, including hundreds of positive cases... Read More
With nearly all farm shows and in-person events cancelled or moved online, a community event is rather rare this time of year. And that's proving rather challenging for many rural communities who are so used to using the warm summer field days as a way to learn, connect, and maybe even commiserate in the beverage... Read More
Premier Doug Ford set up at Lambton-Kent-Middlesex-area Carven Farms to announce not only the province's $7 billion share of the federal $19 billion "safe re-start" of the economy, but also to announce the planned bump to Ontario's risk management programs would go ahead a year early. The federal transfer payment is to cover health care,... Read More
Recent restrictions placed on the temporary foreign worker (TFW) program in Canada have revealed the fragility of the Canadian food supply chain according to a new report from Robert Falconer, policy analyst with the University of Calgary's Simpson Centre School of Public Policy. Falconer recently joined Shaun Haney on RealAg Radio to discuss the report,... Read More
A new mobile app is under development to help farmers track their mental health and link them with supports, says the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. The app is the result of a partnership between Innovation Saskatchewan, the Ministry of Agriculture, and Bridges Health, out of Saskatoon, after being selected out of the province-wide Innovation Challenge... Read More
If you're frustrated by how government support programs are designed or overwhelmed by navigating the paperwork, you're certainly not alone. The numbers speak for themselves — enrolment in the main suite of federal programs has been dropping steadily for years. A recent letter from the Standing Committee on Agriculture to the Minister of Agriculture and... Read More
The Liberal Member of Parliament who chairs the House of Commons' agriculture committee has written a letter to his colleague who serves as agriculture minister pointing out the flaws in the government's business risk management (BRM) programs for agriculture. The agriculture committee has been studying the federal government's suite of risk management programs, which includes... Read More
Just like farmers take pride in putting in the hard work and long hours to see a job done, now is not the time to take our foot off the gas of the mental health and wellness conversation in agriculture. "I can understand how people can start to be feeling burnt out about hearing about... Read More
In this RealAg LIVE! episode with Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Mary joins host Shaun Haney to discuss agricultural policy issues including temporary foreign workers, business risk management programs, and engaging with youth and minorities. Check out the video below, or scroll down to read the summary! Tune in Thursday,... Read More