ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl figures it will be years before World Trade Organization negotiations get life again and he sees little good news in that prediction. The United States will concentrate on writing a new high-spending farm bill and bilateral trade deals that open markets but do nothing about domestic […] Read more
News
Lack of world trade deal means disputes likely
Strahl, CWB remain strangers
There is no shortage of daunting challenges facing the Canadian grain industry. One of the biggest seems to be trying to get Chuck Strahl and the Canadian Wheat Board in the same room to talk about the board’s future. The board and Strahl have met just twice since he took office as agriculture and CWB […] Read more
U.S. leaders differ on fate of American farm bill
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – There were conflicting signals recently from American farm leaders about how the collapse of World Trade Organization negotiations will affect U.S. farm policy. Gerald Tumbleson of Minnesota, president of the National Corn Growers’ Association, predicted in a July 27 interview that pressures to cut farm program spending will continue to be […] Read more
More anthrax cases reported
Anthrax continues to spread on the Prairies with 136 new deaths reported from Aug. 1-4. The record breaking level of infection has claimed 633 animals so far, including a death on a Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration pasture near Ituna, Sask., last week. Last week, the outbreak spread to two more rural municipalities in Manitoba and […] Read more
Farming thrives in Newfoundland
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – CBC commentator and columnist Rex Murphy once brought the house down in a speech to an Ontario agribusiness crowd by suggesting that as a Newfoundlander, he was ill-suited to speak about agriculture. “I’ve always understood agriculture requires three basic ingredients – soil, sunshine and water,” he opined. “We offer only one […] Read more
Two CWB directors help plan for dual market
When grain and farm industry officials met with federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl in Saskatoon July 27 to talk about how to implement a dual market for grain, the Canadian Wheat Board was officially uninvited and absent. But among the 25 people seated around the table for the day-long closed-door discussion were two members of […] Read more
Biofuel advocates outline tax plan
Canada’s main biofuel lobby group has proposed an extensive series of tax incentives, regulatory changes and government supports that it says could help create a biofuel industry. The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association says when Ottawa produces a promised biofuel strategy this autumn, it should drop the existing 10 cents per litre excise tax exemption at […] Read more
Ottawa extends cash advances
Farmers who haven’t had a chance to repay their cash advances through no fault of their own are getting a break. The federal government announced last week that it was issuing a “stay of default” on repayment of cash advances for producers who have been unable to market their wheat, durum, lentils and honey because […] Read more
Goats example of effective aid
Outsiders often hear of Africa’s big disasters and failed projects while small successes are ignored. “Africa is littered with small scale success,” says Christie Peacock, chief executive officer of the non profit aid society Farm Africa. “Too often development in Africa is done to people by outsiders rather than building on what is there,” she […] Read more
Disease centre receives world recognition
A federal disease lab in Winnipeg has been put at the forefront of international efforts to control avian influenza and BSE. The National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg was recently designated as a reference laboratory for avian influenza and BSE by the World Organization for Animal Health, also known as the OIE. The […] Read more
