Saskatchewan’s latest budget taps down the education property tax (EPT) mill rate it sets on farmland, while raising those mill rates on other property classes. The provincial government, in Tuesday’s budget, set the provincewide EPT mill rate on agricultural land for 2021 at 1.36, down slightly from the previous rate of 1.43. EPT mill rates […] Read more
Saskatchewan to pare school tax mill rate for farmland
EPT mill rates to rise for residential, other properties
Alberta ag lender drops rural business loans
AFSC not taking new applications for program
A program offering term loans to small- and medium-sized businesses in rural Alberta is off the provincial ag lending agency’s menu. Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) announced Thursday it had discontinued its Rural Business Loan Program effective immediately, so as to “concentrate its efforts on agricultural producers and agribusinesses.” The decision means no new […] Read more
Health Canada steps back from bans on two neonics
New limits, some cancellations to be put in place
A federal proposal to protect aquatic insect habitat by cancelling all registered outdoor uses for two popular ag insecticides has been walked back in a major way. Health Canada on Wednesday announced its special review decisions on the risks to aquatic bug life from the use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam, both pesticides and seed treatments […] Read more
Quebec to reduce onus for farm workers seeking workers’ comp for Parkinson’s
Amended rule would grant 'presumption' for pesticide exposure
Some Quebec farmers and farm workers with Parkinson’s disease may soon have an easier path to seek workers’ compensation — if they can show at least a certain amount of exposure to pesticides. Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet on Tuesday tabled an amendment to bill 59, draft legislation that includes updates to Quebec’s workplace health […] Read more
McCormick brings French’s ketchup processing in-house
Club House spice maker expands London, Ont. plant
The firm behind the French’s ketchup brand is bringing its bottling of the product to its own plant in southwestern Ontario. McCormick Canada, the Canadian arm of Baltimore-area condiment and spice maker McCormick and Co., on Monday announced it had completed a “multi-million dollar expansion” at its London, Ont. plant to blend, bottle and package […] Read more
Ag ministers withdraw AgriStability reference margin limit
Program's compensation rate unchanged but 'remains on table'
In a move expected to provide $95 million in additional farm support per year, Canada’s ag ministers have agreed to remove the reference margin limit from the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. “That’s it! The ‘reference margin limit’ of the #AgriStability program is over! And it will be retroactive to 2020!” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude […] Read more
Manitoba soil temperatures allow for spring fertilizer
Winter ban lifted, with cautions
Farmers across Manitoba are now cleared to apply spring fertilizers including livestock manure on their fields, thanks to sufficiently warm soil temperatures, the province said Tuesday. Though the winter nutrient ban has been lifted, the province cautioned producers to “assess current weather conditions and periodically check weather forecasts” if they’re applying anytime between now and […] Read more
Burger King rolls out plant-based Impossible Burger in Canada
Nationwide launch of soy- and potato-based burger set for mid-April
The Canadian arm of quick-service chain Burger King has made its move into the Canadian plant-based burger market, working with U.S. processor Impossible Foods. Burger King, a U.S.-headquartered brand of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International (RBI) since 2014, said Monday it becomes “the first quick-service restaurant in Canada to put the award-winning, plant-based Impossible Foods patty […] Read more
Richardson to upsize Yorkton canola crush plant
Company to boost shipping and receiving, double processing capacity
Agrifood firm Richardson International’s major canola crush plant at Yorkton in eastern Saskatchewan is set to undergo another round of upgrades which are expected to double its processing capacity. The company on Monday announced it will start work immediately on “facility upgrades and improvements” that would allow it to process over 2.2 million tonnes of […] Read more
Beef trade gap seen growing as U.K. pact clears Parliament
Interim post-Brexit trade deal gets royal assent
Canada’s beef cattle producers are warning of a growing beef trade deficit, not only between Canada and the European Union but between Canada and the United Kingdom, as a new stopgap U.K. trade pact nears its launch. International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Friday announced Canada is ratifying the Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), after […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
