(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

CCA disappointed, not surprised by breakdown in trade talks

Yesterday, federal officials said bilateral negotiations with the UK had been paused amid unhappiness on both sides

The Canadian Cattle Association says it's disappointed but not surprised by the UK's decision to pause talks on its free trade deal with Canada. “CCA has been following the bilateral negotiations closely and has been concerned at the lack of ambition and cooperation from the UK in these negotiations," said Nathan Phinney, the CCA's president, in a news release late yesterday.




In early December, the Saskatchewan River was at its second lowest level in the past 23 years.   Photo: Alex McCuaig

Alberta expands livestock drought recovery supports

Only a narrow band of the province remains exempt from the aid program

The 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative, funded through the AgriRecovery framework by the federal and provincial governments, offers payments of up to $150 per head to livestock producers who have 15 or more animals per type of livestock, and have altered usual grazing practices for more than 21 days due to drought.



Farmers protesting in Toulouse, France, on January 16, 2024, with tractors bearing placards that read ‘Macron still an effort, soon all farmers will be dead’. Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Reuters

Explainer: Why are French farmers protesting?

Many farmers feeling pinched by costs, imports, environmental regulations and disregarded by French society

French farmers are blocking roads across the country to demand government action to address numerous grievances, as protests in the European Union's agricultural sector spread. Here are some of the issues that have prompted the growing protest movement and how the government could respond.