A trade war could be just as damaging to farmers as a drought, so business risk management programs should be adapted to reflect this, said Tyler McCann from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. | Getty Images

Policy institute calls for open review of ag spending

It’s been 13 years since agricultural spending was reviewed, and some programs may no longer meet producer needs

A full-scale review of Canadian agricultural spending should be a top priority in this time of global uncertainty, said a new report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Comment: Protecting our farms for the long term

Farmers are supporting farmers to improve business risk management in the face of climate change

A recent opinion piece in the Manitoba Co-operator references the Business Risk Management Task Force report that Farmers for Climate Solutions released almost a year ago (“NFU stance on BRM programs mystifying,” Feb. 16).  The article makes a number of claims that are not correct and require clarification. I am a farmer who has been

Federal Ag Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (r) visits the Ag in Motion outdoor farm show near Langham, Sask. on July 20, 2022. (Greg Berg photo)

Ag ministers lock in next policy funding framework

AgriStability compensation rate to rise; new EGS program planned; some agmins decry feds' approach on fertilizer emission cuts

The new federal-provincial ag policy funding framework due to take effect next April 1 will include a new ecological goods and services plan and a sweetened compensation rate for AgriStability. Following meetings this week in Saskatoon, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her provincial and territorial counterparts on Friday mapped out the bones of their

Manitoba Agriculture Minister Blaine Pedersen speaks at Ag Days in Brandon on Jan. 21, 2020. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

AgriStability proposal could have hidden cost, Pedersen warns

Manitoba's ag minister warns Bibeau's plan may hurt crop insurance, AgriInvest funding

Ottawa’s proposal for an improved AgriStability program could give farmers short-term gain for long-term pain, Manitoba’s agriculture minister Blaine Pedersen warns. At the online federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers’ meeting on Friday, federal Agriculture Minister Marie Claude Bibeau proposed dropping AgriStability’s maximum reference margin, and increasing the compensation rate from 70 to 80 per cent retroactively this


parliament hill in Canada

Opinion: Plenty of work for new-look Agriculture Committee

This body is generally fair minded and pragmatic, an anomaly for Ottawa

Members of Parliament sitting on the committee studying agricultural and agri-food issues will have no shortage of topics to explore. The first meeting of the current parliamentary session was held on Oct. 8, the latest since July. It was then MPs were concluding the work they had done studying business risk management (BRM) programs. Between

File photo of Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaking in Winnipeg in February 2020. (Dave Bedard photo)

Bibeau not considering closing AgriInvest accounts

Minister wouldn't order farmers to pull funds

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is not considering ordering producers to withdraw from their AgriInvest accounts. “Not in this way. All the options are on the table for the future, but I’ve never considered asking them to withdraw, to empty their accounts, to face COVID-19,” she said in an interview Friday. Bibeau had previously expressed

Industry ‘disappointed’ in Bibeau’s AgriInvest comments

Ottawa wants producers to use the money in their AgriInvest accounts, but farm groups say thoseindividual accounts often don’t amount to much

Industry groups are firing back after federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said she was disappointed to see more than $2 billion still sitting in AgriInvest accounts. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a back and forth has gone on between Ottawa and producers over money being held in those accounts. Ottawa and the ag sector


‘There’s no doubt that some of the programs are a bit confusing and I think there could be a marketing push to show there are programs out there for young farmers.” – Paul Glenn, Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum.

Young Farmers call for BRM education

Programs are confusing and poorly understood, especially among younger producers

Glacier FarmMedia – Members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food heard testimony from young farmers during a recent virtual meeting. Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum past chair Paul Glenn told members there is “nothing more important” than business risk management (BRM) programs to those starting out in the industry, but the outlook to bring such people into agriculture

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

No timeline yet set for BRM reforms

Changes put on hold along with ministers' meeting

Ottawa — Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed any reforms to business risk management (BRM) programs are being delayed. That confirmation came during a wide-ranging media availability Bibeau held Tuesday. In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), said the government is looking at a number of options