Farm groups continue to push for aid in the wake of China reducing imports of Canadian canola seed and COVID-19. During regulator meetings of the Canola Working Group, which includes federal government officials, the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) has been asking for business risk management program (BRM) reforms, and a government-mandated increase in biofuel,
Renewed calls for farm aid get louder
Canola Growers and KAP want Ottawa to up its contribution to AgriInvest
A tale of two countries’ farm subsidies
American farmers have received billions of dollars in aid and legislators are working to send out more, while Canadian farmers’ requests fall on deaf ears
What a difference a border makes. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) wants $2.6 billion in emergency farm aid due to reduced revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, while the American government has already budgeted US$23.5 billion in ad hoc farm subsidies. That’s coming as part of its US$2-trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Cigi joins Cereals Canada fold
The merged organization will continue to provide technical support to global marketing efforts
The Canadian International Grains Institute’s name and brand will carry on despite a merger with Cereals Canada effective June 1. “From a Cigi standpoint I don’t think much is going to change,” Trent Rude, Cigi’s chair and director of merchandising at Viterra, said in an interview April 14. “One of the main things we wanted
Some fear grain trade wants to kill CGC
The government body has long ensured impartial quality certification
When asked for the National Farmers Union’s view of the Canadian International Grains Institute (Cigi) merging with Cereals Canada, Stewart Wells was succinct. “We take a dim view of it,” Wells, the NFU’s second vice-president, said in an interview April 22. “Right off the top, one of the concerns we would have is, is Cereals Canada, with all of its
COVID-19 threatens federal field research
Prairie cereals' commissions urge AAFC to follow example of universities, private researchers
COVID-19 threatens to sideline Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) field, greenhouse and laboratory research this year, but not if the Prairie wheat and barley commissions that help to fund it with farmer money have a say. AAFC has been sending “mixed messages” about its plans, Pam de Rocquigny, general manager of the Manitoba Wheat and
What acres remain from harvest 2019 unclear
It’s believed a lot of corn and sunflowers were combined this winter, but it’s not clear how much of other crops remain to be harvested
Last fall thousands of acres went unharvested because of wet conditions. How much crop was taken off between then and now is unknown, as are the number of acres still worth harvesting. “From what we understand most producers really haven’t been able to address their unharvested acres in any fashion either to combine it, or destroy it, or whatever,” David Van Deynze, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation’s
Is Canada food secure?
One farm group says without government support for farmers, domestic food supplies aren’t guaranteed
COVID-weary Canadians have something else to keep them up at night — the spectre of a domestic food shortage. “(W)ithout immediate assistance from the federal government, the Canadian agriculture sector cannot ensure our domestic food supply will remain secure for the immediate and long-term benefit of all Canadians (because of COVID-19),” the Canadian Federation of
$16 billion pledged to U.S. farmers due to COVID-19
USDA predicts lower prices for most commodities, excluding wheat and rice
While the Canadian Federation of Agriculture asks for ad hoc subsidies to help Canadian farmers to offset lower incomes expected due to COVID-19, the United States administration could spend as much as $25 billion to help its farmers due to the pandemic. American farmers will receive billions of dollars of subsidies through direct payments. But
Survey says… farmers need COVID cash
As seeding looms, producers fear the pandemic will cut their income
COVID-19 has North American farmers worried so they are asking their respective federal governments for cash. Almost three-quarters of farmers taking part in recent surveys in Saskatchewan and the United States said they fear the pandemic will hurt their incomes. “Farmers need cash to be able to get their crop in the ground this spring,
Canadian, Manitoba farmland values higher in 2019
The yearly growth has slowed in recent seasons and that trend is expected to continue
Average Manitoba farmland values rose four per cent in 2019, just slightly higher than the 3.7 per cent increase recorded in 2018, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) says in its 2019 Farmland Values report released April 6. The biggest increase — 8.9 per cent — was in the Eastman region followed by 4.7 per cent in
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