Barry Wilson

Federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief is casting a cautious eye at the almost unlimited optimism that seems to be driving expansion of the prairie hog industry these days. The Ontario farmer and rookie minister is a fan of diversification and has had personal experience in the hog industry on his farm near Belleville, Ont. But […] Read more

On April 5, 1939, Canadian prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King finally was ready to concede defeat in his attempts to get rid of the Canadian Wheat Board. As he sat down that night to write in his famous diary, after three years of trying to abolish the wheat board created by his Conservative predecessor […] Read more

For farmers wondering about the impact of the federal government’s decision to sign an international climate change treaty in December, there still are more questions than answers. The federal government has promised to slash emissions of such greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. It has not yet said how it can be […] Read more

An influential environmental lobby group has apparently lost a bid to have the federal government investigate the safety of 13 widely-used pesticides and insecticides before re-registering them this year. The World Wildlife Fund alleges that the pesticides, including atrazine and endosulfan, can disrupt the proper functioning of hormones in animals and humans. Their five-year registration […] Read more

Months after it was first promised in legislation, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has its industry advisory committee. Last week, federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief announced the appointment of a 12-member board led by Quebec farm leader Paul Massicotte. It includes western representatives Deborah Haines of Saskatchewan, a professor at the Western College of Veterinary […] Read more

Although the enabling legislation remains unexpectedly stalled in Parliament during its seven-week Christmas break, new federal co-operatives legislation should be approved by the end of February, says a national co-op official. It means that by autumn, Canada’s federally regulated co-operatives will have new rules to live by, offering them more flexibility in the marketplace, said […] Read more

The greying of Canada’s farmers is picking up speed. Like the general Canadian population, farmers are getting older as the transfer of farms from one generation to the next is delayed due to lack of opportunity or lack of takers. “This is a real trend we have been picking up for a number of years,” […] Read more

It hit like an attack on prairie hog producer pride. Last month, Ontario Pork chair Carl Moore told a roomful of Toronto bankers not to invest too much time or money in the prairie hog industry. The region, he said, has a long history of being an unreliable hog producer, using pigs as a substitute […] Read more

Effective Feb. 1, Canadian dairy farmers will see a boost in the prices they receive for industrial milk, used in the food manufacturing business. As a result, consumers will see an increase in the price of products made from milk or butterfat, likely beginning in the spring, and the restaurant and food services lobby predicts […] Read more

The failure of the United States administration to win congressional authority for fast track trade negotiating authority last autumn will slow down but not sabotage the world’s move to freer trade, Canadian trade officials said last week. But Canada hopes the U.S. will reverse that decision by spring, when negotiations are to begin in Chile […] Read more