BRM Review Progress Slow, Ministers Indicate

Progress toward developing a new set of farm support programs is slow and shows no signs of speeding up soon, judging from Canada’s agriculture ministers’ meeting Feb. 11. “There really seems to be a lack of progress going ahead,” said Ron Bonnett, Canadian Federation of Agriculture president, after ministers wrapped up their semiannual meeting in

Product Of Canada Should Be Really Canadian, Miller Says

Conservative MP Larry Miller is offering a simple fix for the debate over how much domestic content there should be in food labelled Product of Canada. To be eligible to use the label, food products should be 100 per cent Canadian with exemptions allowed for processed or packaged foods that include sugar, spices and other


Canada’s Food System Needs An Overhaul

The federal and provincial governments should encourage farmers to ramp up production this year to take advantage of strong prices but also help ease tight world stocks of grain and other commodities, says the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. They issued reports in early February urging gover nments

CWB Is Buying Boats

The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) defended its controversial decision to buy into the Great Lakes shipping fleet last week, saying it will ultimately mean higher returns for farmers. The board’s goal is not only to get the best returns for farmers, but to cut their costs too, said CWB chair Allen Oberg. Oberg said the


Is Cheap Food Something To Celebrate?

There were three storms making headlines over the past week, and only two of them were weather related. While the storm dubbed “Stormageddon” spread a wintry blast across 30 U.S. states, the Australian coast was hit by a major cyclone. But the storm that had all the world on edge last week was taking place

Farm Aid Showdown Looms

The debate between producers and government about the future look of Canada’s farm safety net programs is about to heat up, says the head of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Farmers want support payments to reflect their production costs. But Ottawa and the provinces are balking, said Ron Bonnett, CFA president. As a result, upcoming


Little Gain For Farmers From Off-Patent Soybean

Monsanto should stop pretending it’s doing farmers any favours in the upcoming expiry of a patent on a genetically engineered soybean, says Bob Friesen, president of Farmers of North America Strategic Agriculture Institute. “Farmers are sick and tired of these empty promises,” Friesen, the former longtime president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said in

Free Trade Talks With Morocco Wins Praise From Ag Sector

Canadian farm groups and the Canadian Wheat Board were quick with praise last week for a federal initiative to launch free trade negotiations with Morocco, saying a deal is needed to keep Canadian durum and pulse exports competitive with shipments from the United States. The U.S. has had an FTA with the North African country


Rethink Farm Support, Former Farm Economist Says

Government farm aid is being misspent on farmers who don’t need the help, and Ottawa and the provinces are misguided in their support for supply management, according to a man who was once the voice of Quebec’s powerful Union des Producteurs Agricoles. Instead of subsidizing farm incomes, governments should “support agricultural entrepreneurship in order to

Ottawa Broadens Food Discussions

The federal government is broadening its consultations on food policy by launching a discussion with eight consumer organizations. The consumer round table was proposed last year in Sheila Weatherill’s report on the deadly 2008 listeria outbreak. It also dovetails with the Connecting with Consumers theme of the annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture