The deadline for submitting comments to the federal government’s review of the Canada Grain Act and Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is April 30, but farmers can also offer feedback at a ‘virtual’ town hall meeting this Friday. The Grain Act and its regulations provide the framework for Canada’s grain quality assurance system and it’s the
Virtual town hall on federal Grain Act set for Friday
Time is running out on consultations, but the April 23 event gives farmers a chance to provide input
KAP welcomes snow, Churchill and $21 canola
Manitoba farmers welcome much-needed moisture via snowfall last week
Manitoba farmers welcomed the precipitation much of agro-Manitoba received April 12 and 13, even if most of it was snow. “The moisture is certainly appreciated…” Keystone Agriculture Producers’ (KAP) president Bill Campbell said during the general farm organization’s online advisory council meeting April 15. However, in an interview later Campbell stressed more timely rains will
Aussie farmers cutting carbon to stay competitive
Two growers presenting to an international conference say this is a response to growing demand in premium markets
While many Canadian farmers say policies to reduce carbon emissions will make them uncompetitive, Aussie producers are setting ambitious climate mitigation goals to meet international customers’ growing demand for sustainable food. “The (Australian) agriculture industry has really led this and has been pushing for these sorts of policy changes… ” Richard Heath, executive director of
EU agriculture plan uneconomic, USDA model concludes
[UPDATED: April 19, 2021] If implemented, the European Union’s (EU) Farm to Fork Strategy and Green Deal will cost the EU and the world, according to an economic model run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The EU is aiming to make agriculture more sustainable by cutting farm inputs such as pesticides and
What gives? Grain shipping records… and service complaints
“There have been some challenges — a couple of bottlenecks in some places and some issues at the port once in a while, but overall I think we’ve had a good run of it.” – Sean Finn, CN
Canada’s railways continue to move record grain volumes but that doesn’t mean rail service woes have disappeared, the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) warns. February marked the 12th month in a row that CN Rail moved a record amount of grain. It shipped 2.28 million tonnes, up seven per cent from the previous record of
Competition grows for cash advances for Manitoba farmers
Alberta’s FarmCash is the latest option for province's growers
Manitoba farmers have lots of options for low- and no-interest cash advances on their soon-to-be-seeded 2021 crops, including new to the Manitoba market, FarmCash, operated by the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC). FarmCash joins the Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA), Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) and Manitoba Livestock Cash Advance Inc. — stalwart administrators of the federal
Cashing out: The history of the cash advance in Manitoba
Manitoba’s corn cash advance started 40 years ago followed shortly by canola
Corn was the first non-wheat board crop in Manitoba to qualify for the federal government’s cash advance program starting in 1981. Jim Pedersen, who was president of the Manitoba Corn Growers’ Association at the time, helped get the association incorporated — a prerequisite to administering the program that offers low- and no-interest loans to farmers
Few strings to cash advances for farmers
Cash advances are some of the most flexible financial arrangements farmers can access
The organizations administering cash advances want farmers to know they can get low-interest (and even no-interest) loans against seeded and stored crops with just one string attached: they must repay the loan as they sell their crop. The first $100,000 is interest free and as much as a further $900,000, depending on where you get
The canola price puzzle
Two years into China’s ban on Canadian canola, a new report pegs the true cost to farmers at as much as $1.3 billion
Many brush off the effect of China’s de facto ban on Canadian canola, pointing to record prices and huge global exports. But that’s a mistake, according to a new study commissioned by the Canola Council of Canada. LeftField Commodity Research delved a bit deeper for the council and found that between March 6, 2019 and
Canola Council of Canada’s Market Access Plan
Two years after China began restricting imports of Canadian canola seed there are no signs normal sales will resume any time soon. “Unfortunately there isn’t any real change to report on,” Brian Innes, the Canola Council of Canada’s (CCC) vice-president of public affairs, said in an interview March 10. And while there seems to be
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