Canada’s agriculture ministers pose for their annual family photo in Charlottetown. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada photo)

Trade ‘balancing act’ in focus at ag ministers’ meeting

With foreign governments urging Canada to open up its protected dairy, poultry and egg markets, the country’s provincial agriculture ministers are unanimously counter-urging in supply management’s defense. Pressure from trading partners and strong regional support in principle for supply management are nothing new. But Canada’s annual ag ministers’ meeting, held this week in Charlottetown, wrapped […] Read more

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Gerry Ritz.

CCA Report: A COOL victory for Canadian beef producers

From the June 2015 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

On May 18, in a historic and decisive victory for Canada’s cattle industry, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a fourth and final ruling confirming that U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) discriminates against U.S. imports of Canadian cattle and hogs. The ruling effectively ends the eight-year legal battle initiated by the […] Read more


Nova Scotia MP named parliamentary ag secretary

A promotion at the federal Tories’ cabinet table has led to the appointment of a new parliamentary secretary on the agriculture file. Gerald Keddy, MP for the Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St. Margaret’s since 1997, was named Friday to replace Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux as parliamentary secretary for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Lemieux, the […] Read more

Promoting beef

The record-high cattle prices that started off the year have persisted into summer and that is a very nice surprise for producers. Typically demand supports higher prices for the first couple of quarters before softening but this year it looks like demand will remain solid for the summer months. There are many factors contributing to […] Read more


COOL overconfidence?

A North American view of the meat industry

It ain’t over till it’s over. Someone needs to remind Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz of this as he ponders his next public pronouncement on mandatory country-of-origin labelling. Ritz raised eyebrows last month when he confidently predicted that the U.S. Congress, through a new Farm Bill, would repeal COOL. Ritz had come to the North […] Read more