As the Trump administration formally starts the process of re-opening the North American Free Trade Agreement, agriculture industry groups continue to remind the governments involved about the benefits of the existing deal. It’s a message that will be repeated often during the 90-day countdown to when renegotiations could begin, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer… Read More
Category: News
A private member’s bill that would have required a GM label to sell “any food that is genetically modified” was defeated in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Quebec NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault introduced the draft legislation (read the Bill C-291 here), with NDP agriculture critic Ruth Ellen Brosseau speaking in favour of it. As… Read More
Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau introduced draft legislation on Tuesday that includes long-awaited changes to the rules governing grain transportation by rail. Bill C-49 will, among other things, give shippers the right to seek reciprocal financial penalties in service agreements with railways, define “adequate and suitable” rail service, and implement new data reporting requirements for railways… Read More
CropLife Canada has named Pierre Petelle as its new president and CEO. Petelle, who has served as vice-president of chemistry for the crop protection and plant technology trade association since 2012, replaces Ted Menzies, who stepped down in January. “The board of directors is unanimous in its enthusiasm for having Pierre lead CropLife Canada. Pierre… Read More
Italy’s government says it is moving ahead with a plan to implement mandatory country of origin labeling requirements on pasta, potentially impacting the competitiveness of Canadian durum wheat in one of its largest markets. The Italian government notified the European Commission about its intentions this week, according to the country’s agriculture minister, Maurizio Martina. (As of… Read More
If you have a cow-calf operation in Ontario, your input is needed in an effort to create a baseline of common management practices for the province. The Ontario Cow-Calf Production Survey is being conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Beef Farmers of… Read More
The 2016 Census of Agriculture results were released on Wednesday, painting an overall picture of Canadian agriculture and how it has changed since the 2011 census. Here’s a quick look at the high-level numbers: There were 193,492 farms counted in 2016, down 5.9 percent from 2011. However, this was the lowest rate of decline in 20 years…. Read More
Update, May 12: A bill entitled “An Act to amend the Canada Transportation Act and other Acts respecting transportation and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts” was added to the House of Commons notice paper on Friday, May 12, meaning it could be introduced as early as Tuesday, May 16. A spring… Read More
When five provincial crop associations in Manitoba announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to merge earlier this week, there was one commodity group notably absent. The Manitoba Canola Growers Association has issued a statement, explaining why its board has decided to monitor the merger discussions, but not participate in the MOU. “Canola… Read More
Viterra is expanding its grain handling network into the U.S. The Regina-based subsidiary of Glencore has acquired a 140,000 metric tonne grain handling facility from Gavilon Grain in Grand Forks, North Dakota — 125km south of the Canada-U.S. border down I-29. “We’re pleased to add this facility to our asset network, and to continue building our… Read More