This holiday season Melodie Chan wants producers to avoid what she calls the “spiral of silence,” which can happen around the dinner table, over beers or even in the gentle lull between turkey and pie if farmers don’t speak up when they hear misinformation about agriculture. “What are we afraid of?” asked Chan, speaking at […] Read more
Talk to family, friends about farming
Regulatory changes would limit farmers’ vet drug imports
Proposed Health Canada changes will affect how antimicrobials are imported into Canada
For John Prescott, a move to end farmers’ right to import certain veterinary drugs marks a significant turning point in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in Canada. The Public Health Agency announced last year that Health Canada’s Veterinary Drugs Directorate would introduce new regulations requiring veterinary oversight of antibiotics used in food animals, such as […] Read more
VIDEO: Cooking up good things with pulses
Canned chickpea water substitutes for egg whites in making macarons
While Canada grows copious amounts of pulses, most are exported. Chefs Geoffroy Dextraze and Chef Chris Kopp of Winnipeg’s Prairie Ink Restaurant and Bakery share their experiences developing new pulse recipes for the provincial launch of the International Year of Pulses. The event was put on by the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers and attended by […] Read more
VIDEO: Resettling refugee families in rural Manitoba
Rural communities in many parts of the Prairies have joined the effort to alleviate the plight of refugees escaping war-torn Syria. Small Manitoba towns such as Altona, Winkler and Morden are doing their part to make room by welcoming seven Syrian families – a total of 45 people – into their communities. The area has a […] Read more
Lawrence MacAulay sworn in as Canada’s new agriculture minister
Ottawa/Manitoba Co-operator – Only hours after being sworn in by Governor General David Johnston and mere minutes after leaving his first cabinet meeting, Canada’s newly minted Minister of Agriculture paused to speak with reporters gathered on Parliament Hill Nov. 3. “I’m certainly pleased,” said Lawrence MacAulay. “Being a dairy farmer and a seed potato farmer […] Read more
TPP not the death of supply management, N.Z. trade chief says
Hamilton, N.Z. | MCO — Canada’s supply-managed sectors should not worry about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, from where New Zealand’s Trade Minister Tim Groser sits. “I can understand why producer groups would wish to perceive this in a different way, but this is not the end of supply management,” he said here Thursday. “I don’t think […] Read more
VanRaes: TPP deal seen shrinking supply-managed markets
CORRECTION, Oct. 7: Canada’s supply managed sectors can expect to lose $4.3 billion to foreign interests in the 15 years following the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After years of negotiations, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S. and Vietnam reached an agreement Monday morning, which includes granting access […] Read more
Canada will not negotiate TPP in public: Ritz
Canada also paying attention to U.S. subsidy programs
Canada’s agriculture minister says Canada won’t negotiate in public when it comes to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed wide-ranging free trade agreement among a group of Pacific Rim countries. Responding to questions at an unrelated event in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Gerry Ritz said Canada has put forward strong proposals […] Read more
Look to crop insurance first: Ritz
While many crops across Western Canada are withering under intensifying drought, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says ad hoc programs are not the answer should producers require assistance. However, tax deferral will be available for affected ranchers. “We don’t need ad hoc (assistance), we’ve got a very comprehensive system of business risk management,” said Gerry Ritz, speaking […] Read more
Transportation review recommendations
Ritz says shippers should be able to charge for cars not delivered on time
Winnipeg — Ongoing assessment of the grain transportation system and better protection for small shippers are two of the eight recommendations made by the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG). They will now be submitted to the Canada Transportation Act Review for consideration. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz was in Winnipeg Monday to announce the findings of […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
