Photo: File

Comment: Let’s get ready to ‘build back better’

Canada needs a permanent solution to perennial transportation issues as part of its economic recovery

Build back better. It’s a catchy slogan – and a good idea. Throughout the pandemic, the Canadian agriculture and food industry has shown it is more than up to the task. But without the right practices, policies and infrastructure in place, it is becoming increasingly clear Canada will not be able to fully realize its


The threat of disease outbreaks is why we are seeing provincial governments across the country pass legislation that imposes penalties for those who trespass onto farm operations.

Comment: COVID-19 pandemic – lessons to keep

Most of us can’t wait to turn the page on the pandemic, but we’ve also learned a lot

As we approach the one-year anniversary of pandemic lockdowns, COVID-19 fatigue has set in for most. We want to see our families again. We want to have a barbecue with our neighbours. We want to be able to meet a group of friends at a restaurant. While we don’t want to talk about positives coming

Photo: ARS/USDA

Hog market recovering from pandemic lows

China again a major driver of hog values

MarketsFarm — In April 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for lean hog futures dropped to their lowest point since 2002, falling below US$40 per hundredweight. Nearly a year later, the industry is in the middle of a speedy recovery. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Thursday, lean hog futures


(Dave Bedard photo)

USDA plans more pandemic programs for disadvantaged farmers

Review found disparities in farm aid distribution

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it will dedicate at least US$6 billion to help smaller-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers who were hurt by the pandemic, along with producers of organic food and other specialty crops. The agency said it would also increase by approximately $5.6 billion payments made

The timely approvals of vaccines to protect against COVID-19 is proof that agility can exist in bureaucratic processes. Maybe it’s time to apply a similar decision-making approach to other areas of importance.

Comment: The pandemic has shown governments can make decisions quickly

Too often, bureaucratic entropy takes over and that makes us less competitive in the global marketplace

One of the lessons of the pandemic and response to it by governments and regulatory agencies is that regulatory agility is possible. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved with record speed, and from what I can find, the government says that the same vigour of process has also been applied. The only point missing is long-term studies


U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is sworn in at the White House on March 18, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Tom Brenner)

New U.S. trade chief Tai focused on CUSMA, China ties in calls

New trade deals on hold for now, White House says

Washington | Reuters — New U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai mapped out her priorities and Washington’s desire to rebuild alliances in initial calls on Monday with her counterparts from Canada, Britain and the European Union. Tai, sworn in Thursday as President Joe Biden’s top trade negotiator, emphasized climate change, racial equity and the need to

COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred at several processing plants in Canada, resulting in extended closures and, in some cases, employee deaths.

Food worker union blasts safety measures, foreign worker system

UFCW told parliamentary committee that the pandemic has been very difficult for food sector employees

A union representing thousands of Canadian food workers says “consistency and enforcement” remain a problem when it comes to responses for its members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Derek Johnstone, special assistant to the national president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union of Canada (UFCW), told a parliamentary committee on Feb. 18 that the


(LIVINUS/iStock/Getty Images)

New quarantine rules lined up for temporary foreign workers

Private transport would allow workers to skip immediate hotel stay

Temporary foreign workers coming to Canada for work in the farming or food processing sectors might not have to immediately check into government-approved hotels for COVID-19 quarantines along with other arriving travellers. The federal government on Tuesday announced new rules for TFWs taking effect starting Sunday (March 21). Like other arrivals, TFWs will still be

Grade 7/8 students explore Canada’s role in global agriculture and trade during Agriculture in the Classroom’s Manitoba Ag Days Adventure 2018.

AITC out of the classroom, but still in the game

Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba looks into 2021, COVID-19 restrictions and all

The last 12 months have been a period for resource development for Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba (AITC-M), and executive director Sue Clayton says there’s more coming down the pipe as the calendar ticks into another year under COVID-19 restrictions. “It’s really changed our thinking on how we do our programming and that’s only going