Alberta Conservative MP John Barlow has re-introduced legislative amendments to protect biosecurity on farms. The federal agriculture critic had presented his private member’s bill in the last Parliament, but it died at the election call last summer. Barlow said Bill C-275 would amend the Health of Animals Act. “This is very fitting with what we […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Saskatchewan shuffles cabinet
A new Saskatchewan cabinet, including the province’s first female justice minister, was sworn in at Government House May 31. David Marit representing Wood River remains agriculture minister, but there were some changes in other key rural portfolios. Arm River MLA Dana Skoropad takes over from Warren Kaeding, Melville-Saltcoats MLA, as environment minister, and Jeremy Cockrill […] Read more
APAS wants crop insurance extension
Saskatchewan’s general farm organization is asking for an extension to the crop insurance seeding deadline. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan said weather has prevented farmers in some regions from getting into their fields. In particular, southeastern and northeastern areas have been hit hard by heavy snowfall, cool temperatures and excessive rain this spring. Although […] Read more
Environmental farm plans still evolving
A recent study of environmental farm plans found they are still valuable tools that could play more significant roles in a future focused on sustainability and climate change. Bronwynne Wilton of Wilton Consulting said EFPs are evolving after about 30 years of use. Her research and surveys of EFP stakeholders across Canada led her to […] Read more
G7 ag ministers commit more help to Ukraine
Countries increase funding for Agricultural Market Information System and discuss ways to assist moving stored grain
Canada’s agriculture minister said the country has doubled its funding to $250,000 to the Agricultural Market Information System operated by the United Nation’s Food and Agricultural Organization in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Marie-Claude Bibeau, speaking to reporters after the G7 agriculture ministers’ meeting in Stuttgart, Germany, said all countries discussed how they […] Read more
Dairy trade ruling response fails to impress U.S.
American groups say Canada’s revisions to tariff rate quota allocations still don’t follow U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
Two American dairy organizations last week urged Washington to retaliate against Canada for failing to meet international trade obligations. The National Milk Producers Federation and the United States Dairy Export Council issued a joint statement saying Canada had not complied with an earlier ruling regarding tariff rate quota (TRQ) applications. They said revisions made to […] Read more
Soil health program launched
SaskSoil has launched a new program for producers to help them improve soil health. The Marginal Areas Rehabilitation in Saskatchewan program offers financial incentives to those who seed marginal acres to perennial forage. President Mark Hoimyr said many farmers have areas on their land that cost more than they produce. “SaskSoil’s MARS program will help […] Read more
Ottawa will not ease Russian fertilizer tariff
Ottawa will not exempt buyers from the tariffs on Russian fertilizer even if the purchases were made before sanctions were imposed March 2. The Conservatives pressed the government during question period last week and again in the House of Commons agriculture committee. Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said the 35-percent tariff applies to all Russian fertilizer […] Read more
Global food security warning issued
Canadians are complaining about escalating food costs but seem unaware the world is heading for a food security crisis, said food distribution expert Sylvain Charlebois. In testimony to the House of Commons finance committee last week, the head of the Agri-Food Analytics Laboratory at Dalhousie University said food inflation in Canada is running about 10 […] Read more
Putting a face on agriculture
Farms are getting larger, farmers are getting older and the value of farm capital continues to climb. The first tranche of data from the 2021 agricultural census released last week shows the continuing trend toward a more consolidated industry. The total number of farms dropped by 1.9 percent to 189,874; that’s the smallest decline in […] Read more
