Made-in-Canada sustainability approach gains support

Made-in-Canada sustainability approach gains support

The ALL initiative is endorsed at the G20 ag ministers' meeting for putting research into fields

The world needs more Canada — at least when it comes to a sustainable agriculture initiative that’s garnered global attention. The Canadian-led initiative called Agroecosystems Living Labs (ALL) shows how to raise food sustainably in the face of climate change. It has been endorsed at the annual meeting of G20 agriculture ministers. ALL brings scientists,

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart, shown here at Ag in Motion in 2015, plans to leave the post following a recent cancer diagnosis. (File photo by Lisa Guenther)

Saskatchewan ag minister to exit cabinet

Saskatchewan’s premier expects to name a new minister of agriculture within days, as the incumbent minister steps aside to focus on cancer treatments. Lyle Stewart announced Thursday he will remain as ag minister until Premier Scott Moe names a new minister, a decision to be announced sometime this week. “I was recently diagnosed with colorectal


(JeffLeal.onmpp.ca)

Sector growth to occupy Ontario ag minister in 2018

Ontario’s Liberals will have their agriculture standard-bearer back for the 2018 election. Jeff Leal, Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, is staying in politics, running for his fifth term as a member of the provincial legislature in the Peterborough riding. Leal, who as a resident of Peterborough is about as rural as any

During times of war, a message of courage

During times of war, a message of courage

Our History: December 1943

The image on the front page of our December 15, 1943 issue carried a Christmas message to take courage during the bleak time of the Second World War. Among the news on the front page was that Manitoba’s total Victory Bond sales had reached $99,641,400, just short of the $100-million objective and that the Manitoba

At Ag Days in January Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced legislation to streamline KAP’s checkoff. The legislation went from second reading to Royal Assent in just four and a half days and will take effect Dec. 1.

Streamlined, improved KAP checkoff takes effect Dec. 1

Bill 35 went from second reading to Royal assent in just four and a half days

The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) will have an improved membership checkoff in place Dec. 1, the start of its new fiscal year, thanks to legislation that was passed and given royal assent Nov. 9 and 10, respectively. Bill 35, the Agricultural Producers Organizations Funding Act, passed third reading unanimously in Manitoba legislature, following a marathon


During KAP’s Nov. 1 advisory council meeting Starbuck farmer Ed Rempel said he shared concerns raised by Butch Harder of Lowe Farm about losing farmer representation if five Manitoba commodity groups merge into one association.

Commodity merger gets chilly reception from some

Some farmers worried over loss of input

The Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) meeting room was chilly, then Starbuck farmer Ed Rempel explained why. “Well Mr. Chairman, I think hell just froze over because I agree with everything Butch Harder just said.” The room erupted with laughter. Harder, a KAP District 3 representative who farms at Lowe Farm, had just told KAP’s fall

Aid refusal fuels flames of western alienation

Aid refusal fuels flames of western alienation

Our History: November 1999

Farm income, or the lack of it, dominated our pages in the fall of 1999. The November 4 issue reported on angry comments from a group of western farmers who had visited Ottawa to ask for $1.3 billion in aid. They met with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief and other ministers, and

Purple fuel is exempt from Manitoba’s $25-a-tonne carbon plan that starts next year, but the province hasn’t decided if the exemption will apply to barn heating or grain dryer fuels. Premier Brian Pallister rolled out his Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan at Oak Hammock Marsh Oct. 27.

Purple farm fuels exempted from Manitoba carbon tax

The government is emphasizing the newly released ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’ is much more than just a carbon tax and is seeking citizen feedback

Purple fuel won’t be subject to Manitoba’s proposed carbon tax, but that exemption may not be extended to heating for barns, greenhouses and grain dryers. The plan calls for Manitoba to bring in a flat $25-a-tonne carbon tax coming next year, rather than the federal government’s $10-a-tonne levy that would rise over time to $50


Former federal agriculture minister, Gerry Ritz, at an announcement in 2015.

Ritz leaves lasting legacy

The colourful and often controversial agriculture minister undoubtedly left his mark

In time Gerry Ritz will receive his due for his accomplishments as federal agriculture minister, an eight-year stint that marked the agri-food sector’s emergence from obscurity to growing recognition as a powerhouse of the Canadian economy. Although Ritz handily held his riding in the 2015 election and switched to being international trade critic, being in

Gerry Ritz won’t be coming back to the House of Commons in September. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Shannon VanRaes)

Ex-agriculture minister Gerry Ritz quits Commons

Gerry Ritz, the federal minister for agriculture and agri-food for nine years in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, is done with federal politics. The MP for the western Saskatchewan riding of Battlefords-Lloydminster since 1997, Ritz announced via Twitter Thursday morning that he “will not be returning to my seat in the House of Commons this fall.”