Having the Canadian economy’s highest job vacancy rate has cost the country’s primary ag sector three per cent of its value, new research shows. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council on Tuesday released labour market information (LMI) research which, based on data for 2014, pegged primary agriculture’s annual farm cash receipt losses at $1.5 billion, […] Read more
Worker shortfall a three per cent hit for farms: Study
Liberals pressed on PACA pledge for produce growers
The federal opposition New Democrats have cherry-picked a Liberal election promise to fruit and vegetable growers seeking insurance against U.S. and Canadian buyers who dodge their bills. Tracey Ramsey, the NDP’s international trade critic and MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of Essex, on Tuesday tabled a motion in the Commons for Canada to set […] Read more
Federal rules arrive on halal food claims
Any food marketed in Canada as certified halal in its labeling or ads will have to include the name of its halal certifying body, starting next month. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Wednesday the two-year grace period it launched in 2014 for halal labelling and advertising requirements will end April 4. Past that […] Read more
History: Retirement of Wilbur McKenzie
Reprinted from the March 1947 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
Retirement of Wilbur McKenzie By C.F. Steele, Lethbridge, Alta. W.C. Wilbur McKenzie, managing director of the Alberta Co-op Association, resigned his position with the Lethbridge organization and will retire the first of April. Mr. McKenzie, one of the best-known livestock-marketing men in the West, will look after his personal interests in the city and district […] Read more
Sask. cattle producers add their support to National Checkoff increase
News Roundup from the March 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
It was unanimous and the decision went on record without much discussion at the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association’s annual general meeting in January. Following presentations at the fall district meetings about the importance of increasing the National Checkoff to $2.50 per head to support the new National Beef Strategy, Saskatchewan producers showed no hesitation in giving […] Read more
Feedlot operators named 2016 Outstanding Young Farmers
Newsmakers from the March 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
Ryan Beierbach of Whitewood is the new chair of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association; Rick Toney of Gull Lake is vice-chair. New to the board is Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association (SCFA) representative Chad Ross of Estevan, replacing outgoing chair Bill Jameson. Brad Welter returns as the other SCFA rep, as do Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association representatives […] Read more
U.S. COOL rules formally off beef, pork
The U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has formally patched a long-sore spot in cross-border trade relations by pulling its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) regulations off beef and pork. The AMS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), published its amendments Wednesday in the U.S. Federal Register. The changes, which took effect upon publication, mean […] Read more
U.S. ag secretary calls for mandatory GMO label
Legislation to avoid a patchwork of state laws on labeling of genetically modified (GMO) foods should make such labels mandatory, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told farmers in New Orleans Friday. Vilsack’s remarks at the Commodity Classic, a U.S. farmers’ trade show and multi-group convention, come as the U.S. Senate agriculture committee sends its proposal […] Read more
History: The Association in the Early Days
Reprinted from the March 1947 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
History: The Association in the Early Days By R. G. Mathews, Everett, Washington ‘It was in the Fall of 1896 that Stockmen from all over what is known as southern Alberta, but which at that time was the SW Corner of the North west Territory, gathered together in the old Town of Macleod, with the […] Read more
Paterson to build new central Alta. elevator
Winnipeg’s Paterson Grain has lined up property off the QE2 Highway in central Alberta for its next inland grain terminal. The company announced Monday it would start construction “immediately” at a site near Bowden, Alta., about 40 km south of Red Deer, to start taking grain in 2017. The facility, when complete, will have storage […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
