A U.S.-led effort to renegotiate NAFTA could see supply management scrapped, but that’s just the beginning, say two Canadian commentators. Speaking separately at the Canadian Global Crops Symposium April 12, the National Post’s Andrew Coyne and Dalhousie University’s Sylvain Charlebois both said the North American Free Trade Agreement could provide the pretext for major changes
NAFTA negotiations key for farmers, say commentators
In separate speeches Andrew Coyne and Sylvain Charlebois predicted while supply management is under the gun, there’s more at stake
Manitoba’s first case of stripe rust near Austin overwintered
It was the only reported case as of April 19 says Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Holly Derksen
The first case of stripe rust this growing season was found in a Manitoba winter wheat field near Austin April 17, but the fungal disease was detected in the same crop last fall. “It definitely overwintered,” Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Holly Derksen said during CropTalk Westman webinar April 19. “It’s too early to have blown
Most Canadian farmers saw higher farmland values
Prince Edward Island saw the largest annual increase in the country
Provincial farmland values, on average, were all up in 2016, except for Newfoundland-Labrador, where there was insufficient data. Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) saw the largest jump at 13.4 per cent. “The main reason for the increases was farming enterprises wanting to gain additional acres to supplement crop rotation cycles and for additional feed production,” Farm
Increase in Manitoba farmland values slowing, says FCC
The biggest driver is crop receipts and unlike in the U.S. they are projected to be positive in Canada in 2016
Average farmland values continued to appreciate in 2016, but by less than the increase a year earlier. That trend was seen both in Manitoba, and across Canada as a whole, with both easily outpacing the gain one could expect from holding a bank GIC, according to Farm Credit Canada. Land prices here, which have been
Carbon tax effects could undermine rural support for PCs
Somerset farmer Gerry Demare proposes farmers pay the tax on inputs if they get the money back like they do with the GST
Manitoba’s coming carbon tax must not hurt farmers or the governing Progressive Conservatives (PC) could face a new right-wing party next election. Local farmer and PC supporter Danny Penner delivered that blunt message to Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon here at a carbon tax meeting March 30. “I am disappointed in Brian Pallister and his government,”
Disgruntled Progressive Conservatives voters take to social media
It’s not just a carbon tax that irks Danny Penner about the current Progressive Conservative government. Penner, who farms near Altona, is unhappy the government elected a year ago after almost 17 years of NDP rule, hasn’t removed education taxes on farmland and property. Read more: Carbon tax effects could undermine rural support for PCs Many
FCC sees increase in Canadian farmland values slowing
Farmland values in Canada, on average, appreciated in 2016 — and while it was less of an increase than the year before, the gain easily beat a bank GIC. Land prices here in Manitoba, which have been rising steadily since 1992, on average gained 12 per cent in both 2015 and 2014. But after four
What to do with a $107.2-million surplus?
The CGC wants grain sector feedback on options, but sending cheques back to farmers is not one of them
The Canadian Grain Commission proposes to cut grain industry user fees 23 per cent to lower its operating surplus of $107.2 million and rising. The surplus as of Sept. 30, 2016 is almost $45 million more than the $62.5 million CGC projects it needs to operate in 2018-19. “So with an average volume of 34.4
CFIA frets PRCWRT overstepping mandate
The federal regulator takes issue with keeping references to germplasm sharing in the committee’s operating procedures and has concerns about data confidentiality
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) isn’t comfortable with having germplasm sharing as a prerequisite for participation in certain registration trials. Those comments came from Mark Forham, a senior specialist with CFIA, at the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale’s (PRCWRT) annual meeting in Winnipeg Mar. 2. Forhan stressed the PRCWRT’s mandate is
New hard white spring wheat HW388 recommended for registration
Interest in the Canada Western Hard White Spring wheat class fell after a couple of poor-quality crops in the 1990s
Richard Cuthbert hopes HW388, his new Canada Western Hard White Spring (CWHWS) wheat will stimulate renewed interest in the class among western Canadian farmers. The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) recommended HW388 for registration at its annual meeting in Winnipeg Mar. 2. “It is an improvement in all aspects for a