Barry Wilson

VANCOUVER – Japanese farmers have been big losers in the aftermath of the 1993 world trade deal, a Japanese farm leader said last week. Hiroshi Kono, executive director of the Japanese farm group JA Zenchu, told the annual convention of Dairy Farmers of Canada Jan. 20 that liberalized trade rules have meant fewer farmers, lower […] Read more

VANCOUVER – The uncertainty over whether Canadian dairy farmers will be allowed to use a controversial growth hormone in their herds appears certain to drag on for at least another year. “I think it will be at least 1999,” said Richard Doyle, executive secretary of Dairy Farmers of Canada. “I don’t think that’s a problem […] Read more

VANCOUVER – Traditionally, the spectre of cheap foreign imports has been considered the great threat to Canada’s dairy farmers and their domestic market dominance. Last week, Dairy Farmers of Canada officials argued there is another, growing threat from within Canada’s borders. Dairy substitutes, food supplements and so-called novel foods are threatening to erode market share […] Read more

Don Dewar, a seed grower and grain farmer from Dauphin, Man., is the new president of Manitoba’s farm lobby group. Dewar takes the helm of Keystone Agricultural Producers from Arborg farmer Les Jacobson, who is retiring after 14 years of involvement with the group, the last three as president. Dewar, who served as the group’s […] Read more

CALGARY – Prairie grain farmers should set aside the age-old notion that they are captives of a non-competitive transportation system, requiring government protection to avoid railway gouging, says a senior CP Rail official. Rick Sallee, vice-president for agri-products and coal, said in an interview last week consolidation of the grain and transportation systems has actually […] Read more

The American government plans to demand another audit of the Canadian Wheat Board this year to ensure its sales to the United States are fair, United States agriculture secretary Dan Glickman said last week. But he also suggested a pilot project that will allow Americans to deliver wheat directly to Canadian elevators could help reduce […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A grain company president and member of a federal task force on the problems of computer systems and the year 2000 has warned of potential computer-related chaos in parts of the food business after Jan. 1, 2000 unless business leaders wake up to the problem. “My own take on this is that it […] Read more

There is no guarantee that thousands of Quebec and Ontario farmers suffering income losses from the devastating mid-January ice storm will receive government compensation, federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief said last week. “That has yet to be determined,” he told a Jan. 16 news conference called after two days of touring damaged areas. “The priority […] Read more

When Canada’s agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief stepped up to the microphone in Washington last week to thank the United States for its help during the eastern ice storm, he offered a personal example. Although his home near Belleville, Ont. was not affected, it is on the highway between Michigan and eastern Ontario. One Sunday evening […] Read more

An early federal government analysis of the stakes in the next world trade negotiation round, beginning next year, is that a number of key Canadian farm policies will be at risk and Canadians can expect opposition from some powerful countries. The role of the Canadian Wheat Board and the Canadian Dairy Commission as state trading […] Read more