(Canada Border Services Agency video screengrab)

Mexico, Canada plow ahead on trade pact ratification despite Trump threats

Mexico City/Ottawa | Reuters — Mexico and Canada said on Friday they would proceed with plans to ratify a new continental trade pact despite a new threat from U.S. President Donald Trump that critics say could undermine chances of the treaty coming into force. Trump, whose administration has made passing the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) free […] Read more

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Mandatory Saskatchewan farm trucker training planned

The training exemption offered in Saskatchewan for semi truck drivers in agriculture operations is now set to be phased out within two years, the province said Wednesday. The provincial government in late 2018 announced it will require a minimum of 121.5 hours of training before a driver can obtain a Class 1 commercial driver’s licence, […] Read more



(Country Guide file photo)

Canada’s realized net farm income way down in 2018

Stagnant farm cash receipts against significant increases in feed, fuel and interest costs have led to Canada’s biggest decline in realized net farm income in over a decade. That’s according to Statistics Canada, which on Tuesday released full-year farm income data for 2018, pegging realized net farm income for the year at $3.9 billion, down […] Read more





Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with steel workers at Stelco in Hamilton on March 13, 2018. (File photo: Reuters/Mark Blinch)

U.S. boosts trade pact’s outlook lifting tariffs on Canadian, Mexican metals

Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — The United States struck deals on Friday to lift tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada and Mexico, the three governments said, removing a major obstacle to legislative approval of a new North American trade pact. The separate agreements, which will not impose U.S. quotas on Canadian and Mexican metals […] Read more

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No automatic renewals this year for Ontario’s RMPs

With a new option this year for coverage under Ontario’s Risk Management Program (RMP), producers won’t be able to let previous decisions ride. Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, on Thursday released full 2019 program details for the RMPs for grains/oilseeds, cattle, hogs, veal and sheep, including premium rates and updated program timelines. As […] Read more



Bloyce Thompson, shown here at right with father Guy and son Taylor, is Prince Edward Island’s new agriculture minister. (EastsideHolsteins.com)

P.E.I. dairyman named provincial ag and land minister

A Prince Edward Island dairy farmer who unseated the province’s incumbent premier on election night is the new provincial minister for agriculture and land, and for justice and public safety. Bloyce Thompson, the new Progressive Conservative MLA for the district of Stanhope-Marshfield, was sworn in Thursday as a member of incoming Premier Dennis King’s nine-member […] Read more