Producers urged to take part in Growing Forward consultations

The province of Manitoba is asking farmers and farm organizations for input into Growing Forward II, which is currently being negotiated with the federal government. “The more input Manitoba industry stakeholders provide through the consultations, the more influence they will have on the future content and direction of the next generation of Growing Forward programs,”

Farm Income Gets Back Seat At Growing Forward Consultations

All the correct buzzwords went up on the overhead screen. Innovation. Adaptability. Sustainability. Compe t i t i vene s s . Ma rk e t growth. Everything considered necessary for Canadian agriculture to succeed in the coming decade. But one term was noticeably absent from presentations at a government-sponsored public meeting held to discuss


Major Revision Possible For AgriStability

Canada’s key agricultural safety net program may undergo a redesign to make it more acceptable to a majority of producers who say it isn’t working for them. Agriculture ministers could consider turning AgriStability into something resembling an income insurance program without the highly unpopular financial margins underpinning it. The idea is only one of many

The Urbanization Of Farm Policy

It has often been difficult over the past decade or so to find the word “farmer” or “agriculture” in the avalanche of policy statements put out by federal parties during election campaigns. Oh sure, there’s been the hot-button issues such as the Canadian Wheat Board, listeria and more money for hard-pressed farmers, but getting the


Celebrating Perseverance

Jack Wilkinson, one of the most respected veterans of national and international efforts to give farmers a policy voice, was eloquent in his brief description last week of the crossroads farmers in Manitoba faced a quarter-century ago. “It was not obvious that Keystone would be successful,” he told farmers and dignitaries gathered for the 25th