(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC doubles down on Young Farmer Loans

Eligible farmers under age 40 will be able to get larger loans for less of a down payment through an expansion of Farm Credit Canada’s Young Farmer Loan plan. The federal farm lending agency on Wednesday announced the program’s credit limit per applicant will be doubled to $1 million, with a minimum down payment of […] Read more

Organic B.C. blueberries. (Falconglen.ca)

B.C. foods to require certification for organic claims

Agrifood producers in British Columbia who promote their wares using the word “organic” will soon have to show certification to back up the claim. The province on Thursday announced new regulations under its Food and Agricultural Products Classification Act that will allow for the term to be used “only if and when specific certification standards […] Read more


Pollan’s greenhouse gas emission claims in regards to agriculture are vastly exaggerated.

Michael Pollan is crusading again

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

The New York Times Magazine recently continued its war on conventional agriculture by giving considerable space to contributing editor Michael Pollan, the UC-Berkeley journalism professor who has made it his goal to replace modern agriculture with something producing only food his “great-grandmother would recognize.” Pollan’s latest* offering recounts how his letter in 2008 warned incoming […] Read more

(MHEby.com)

Livestock transport regulations up for comment

The public can comment until mid-February on proposed new livestock transport regulations which the government says will help Canada line up with international standards and limit how long livestock can go unfed during shipping. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced amendments to the federal Health of Animals Regulations dealing with transportation have been […] Read more



“If your reason for choosing to be a vet isn’t for the love of animals, then you are probably in the wrong profession.” Dr. Bob Evenson, veterinarian, Tisdale, Sask.

For the love of animals

Animal care is at the forefront for veterinarian Dr. Bob Evenson

Dr. Bob Evenson made a swift entry into the real world of veterinary medicine the first morning of his career when he delivered a calf by C-section only to return to the clinic to find out that another case 30 miles north would be the second of what would add up to more than 4,000 […] Read more


e-Manifests hit the road in Alberta

e-Manifests hit the road in Alberta

Identification: News Roundup from the November 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

A staged rollout of an e-manifest being developed by Alberta’s Livestock Identification Services (LIS) for the province’s cattle producers and horse owners is now underway with plans to add sheep in due time. An electronic version of the paper manifest has been available since June for transport only. It can be used by producers when […] Read more



Quebec’s Agriculture Minister Pierre Paradis announced funding for L’Arterre at winery Cassis Monna et Filles of St-Pierre-de-l’Ile-d’Orleans, Que., accompanied by (l-r) Catherine et Anne Monna and Land Bank agent Leslie Carbonneau and other dignitaries. (Groupe CNW/MAPAQ)

Quebec service to match farmland sellers, young buyers

The Quebec and federal governments are putting up funds for a different kind of online match site: one to connect aspiring young farmers with producers who are either retiring or wanting to sell or rent farmland. The two governments on Tuesday announced $300,000 for the Centre de reference en agriculture et agroalimentaire du Quebec (CRAAQ) […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Plentiful feed supplies weigh on feed barley prices

CNS Canada — A steady stream of fusarium-damaged wheat is flooding Alberta feedlots these days, giving ranchers a variety of choices on what they can give to their animals — but also keeping feed barley prices in check. “That has definitely been heavy on the barley,” said Allan Pirness of Marketplace Commodities in Lethbridge. That […] Read more