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

Comment: Delay to federal-provincial meetings disappointing but necessary

There were never many reasons to be optimistic federal and provincial governments would find a short-term solution to long-held concerns over Canada’s business risk management (BRM) programs. Another delay to a meeting of federal and provincial agriculture ministers to discuss the issue shouldn’t change this. Originally scheduled to happen in July, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted


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

Jill Verwey.

BRMs slow, complicated, kind of pointless, Manitoba farmers say

PROGRAM | Manitoba farmers weigh in on issues with AgriStability

The way some Manitoba farmers see it, they’d be better off if AgriStability didn’t exist. “AgriStability has never been there for cattle producers or grain producers, and definitely not there for the mixed producers,” said Mitch Janssens, who farms near Boissevain. Earlier this month, Ag Minister Blaine Pedersen said the program, long under fire from


‘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

Federal committee sends BRM recommendations to Bibeau

The letter from the Commons agriculture committee trod on some familiar ground

The parliamentary committee studying business risk management (BRM) programs has highlighted potential changes in a letter sent to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, Liberal MP Pat Finnigan, wrote the letter in advance of the July 3 enrolment deadline for AgriStability so that Bibeau could work


Committee continues review of BRM programs

Committee continues review of BRM programs

After being derailed by COVID response, it’s back to regular business for MPs

Members of Parliament continued their study into business risk management (BRM) programs offered by the federal government during recent virtual meetings of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. The study was interrupted by COVID-19, which prompted meetings specifically about government’s response to the pandemic, but during meetings on June 12 and June 17, the

(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


Beef cattle feeding in Ontario. (DebraLee Wiseberg/iStock/Getty Images)

COVID-19 strains already-battered Ontario beef industry

Limited processing capacity remains financial challenge for province's feedlot sector, despite recent increase in retail demand

Ontario’s beef industry was already in the midst of an economic crisis, but COVID-19 is worsening the financial toll on the province’s cattle feeders. Due to extremely limited processing plant capacity, an uncompetitive market and disruptions to trade and market access, Ontario’s beef industry was losing an average of more than $2 million per week

CFA president Mary Robinson at the organization’s AGM in Ottawa in February 2020. (CFA-fca.ca)

CFA seeks immediate cash for farmers

Farm and industry leaders say more needed beyond measures already announced

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the federal government to provide immediate stimulus to farmers through business risk management (BRM) programs as part of its ongoing response to COVID-19. At a recent board meeting, the organization representing about 200,000 farmers across Canada passed motions calling for increased funding to the AgriInvest BRM program — and