Manitoba Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen has asked his department for ideas on how to replace AgriStability with an enhanced AgriInvest program. Some frustrated farmers say it might be better to scrap AgriStability in favour of something else. Pedersen, who has called AgriStability “a broken wheel,” doesn’t disagree. “There’s lots of challenges with AgriStability so let’s
Is it time to break through the maze of AgriStability?
Some farmers have long thought so and now the provincial ag minister is also wondering
Farmers fed up with AgriStability
CFA has a three-pronged approach to address farmers’ concerns with farm program
Canadian farmers are fed up with governments failing to fix AgriStability, says Chris van den Heuvel, second vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and a Nova Scotia farmer. “We’re relying on programs that are ineffective, untimely and not impactful,” he said in an interview March 5. “We have been bringing this forth continuously
The quest for a perfect farm safety net program
There’s a long list of plans that have come and gone
The perfect farm income stabilization program is as elusive as utopia itself. But a lot of farmers say they would be happy if AgriStability’s payout trigger went back to an 85 per cent, instead of the current 70. But that would cost governments potentially a few hundred millions of dollars more, estimates University of Saskatchewan
Border closure likely to leave most commerce unscathed
COVID-19: Essential movements will continue, and industry hopes that includes inputs like fertilizer
Canada and the United States have mutually agreed to close their shared border to non-essential travel, a move the Canadian government has been hinting at since Monday. United States President President Donald Trump tweeted the news Wednesday saying “trade will not be affected.” On March 16 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several of his ministers
Handlers focus on keeping grain moving despite COVID-19
Grain companies, Canadian Grain Commission working but unsure of future
Canada’s grain companies are committed to keeping grain moving to domestic and export customers, but how the spread of COVID-19 might affect business is still an unknown, says Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association. “We are are going to do everything in our power to keep grain moving at this time,”
CN executive thanks customers for patience, warns protesters
Sean Finn, CN rail’s executive vice-president of corporate services and chief legal officer, is thanking customers, including farmers, for their patience in the wake of a rail shipping backlog. His message to the protesters, whose blockades added to the backlog, is their actions put themselves and CN staff in danger. Several times CN trains came
Canadian Grain Commission chief says retiring wasn’t easy decision
Patti Miller says the CGC has been working towards modernization the last three years
Deciding to retire as chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) in June wasn’t easy, but Patti Miller says it’s the right one. “I’ve worked in this industry for 35 years,” Miller said in an interview Feb. 21. “That’s a significant amount of time. I love this organization. The people are amazing. They are
Seed pilot project unveiled
The new Seed Variety Use Agreement (SVUA) pilot project, unveiled in Winnipeg Feb. 25, will demonstrate the benefits of farmers paying breeders a royalty for seed saved for planting. But the Prairies’ five wheat and barley commissions have “significant concern” about the project, they said in a news release. The SVUA pilot is being organized
Grain Commission’s chief announces retirement
AAFC's review of Grain Act, and of CGC's future, continues
The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is seeking a new chief commissioner. Patti Miller, who has held the position for three years, announced Tuesday to CGC staff that she will retire June 26. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) “will be launching an open, transparent and merit-based process to find a new commissioner as soon as possible,”
2019 was a crop year full of surprises
It was a challenging year, but the data shows there were still some surprising good yields
There were lots of surprises during the 2019 growing season, including just how well many Manitoba crops yielded, on average, despite challenges from April to November. The good, bad and ugly are captured in Yield Manitoba 2020, out this week with the Manitoba Co-operator. Of the 13 insured Manitoba crops under the microscope for the
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