Portrait of female farmer

Agriculture an also-ran in federal budget

There were few tangible investments made to meet the government’s own targets to grow food exports

After enjoying headline status last year, the agri-food sector found itself once again on the back burner in the 2018 federal budget. There was none of the bold talk of 2017, when the agri-food export target of $75 billion by 2025 was set. Read more: New rules on passive investment arrive in budget Ron Bonnett, president

Prairie grain movement is preventing farmers from marketing their grain and could mean a spring cash crunch.

Farmers call for action from Ottawa on grain transportation

Grain movement has ground to a halt on the Prairies, causing some to recall the crisis of 2013-14

The federal government needs an immediate action plan to restore adequate grain transportation and ensure Prairie producers have the funds to plant the 2018 crop, farm leaders said March 1. Alarmed by Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay’s lack of awareness about the gravity of the grain transportation delays when he spoke to the annual meeting of


Save time and money with accurate farm records

Save time and money with accurate farm records

Our History: December 1981

Farm records were still kept on paper in December 1981, when a Manitoba Agriculture ad invited farmers to talk to their ag rep about the new farm record book. Our Dec. 3 edition reported that 38-year-old former RCMP officer Bill Uruski of Poplarfield had been appointed as the new minister of agriculture in the Howard

KAP is asking interested members to join its new Grassroots Advocacy Team to aid KAP’s lobbying efforts, general manager James Battershill said during KAP’s recent advisory council meeting.

KAP creates new Grassroots Advocacy Team

The effort is hoping to get more farmer-members involved in the group’s lobbying efforts 


Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP), which advocates on behalf of Manitoba farmers, is asking interested members to join its new Grassroots Advocacy Team and play a direct role in lobbying too. “We’re asking members who are willing to pick up the phone and make a call, who are willing to send a letter, let us know


Morneau pulls back on tax changes

The government says it will consult with farmers and other small businesses on intergenerational transfers

The federal government is withdrawing several controversial tax changes and will consult with farmers and other small businesses on rules that could make intergenerational transfers of family enterprises simpler, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Oct. 19. He capped a week of backing down on tax changes affecting farmers, fishers and other small businesses by announcing

Trudeau asks, “Why should I sell your wheat?”

Trudeau asks, “Why should I sell your wheat?”

Our History: October 2000

The editorial in our October 5, 2000 issue noted the passing of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, who had often been criticized for his quote from a 1968 meeting in Winnipeg when he said, “Why should I sell your wheat?” We carried the full text which followed that statement just after he was elected, which


Sept. 20 was the last day of work for Jeanette Gaultier as Manitoba Agriculture’s weed specialist. KAP hopes the position is filled quickly. Gaultier is BASF’s new senior technical service specialist for Manitoba.

KAP concerned over unfilled weed specialist position

Jeanette Gaultier, who had the position, left to work for BASF

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) wants Manitoba Agriculture’s weed specialist position quickly filled. Jeanette Gaultier, who held the job for the last two years, left the position Sept. 20 to become BASF’s new senior technical service specialist for Manitoba starting Sept. 25. Previously Gaultier, who has a PhD in pesticides and soil science, was Manitoba Agriculture’s

Farmers busy with harvest are now simultaneously having to contemplate 
major changes to how they can use incorporation to manage their businesses.

Succession planning at risk

Frustration over Ottawa’s proposed changes to small-business taxation continues to mount

Farmers are being urged to join the chorus of opposition facing the federal government’s proposed tax changes. Manitoba’s minister of agriculture has already added his voice to the growing calls for Ottawa to reconsider the massive overhaul and Keystone Agricultural Producers is asking its members to participate in government consultations before the October 2 deadline.


“I cannot think of one farm client who will not be affected by these rules,” Mona Brown, tax law expert, Brown and Associates.

Proposed tax changes could hit family farms hard

More taxes and more complexity in succession planning expected

Tax law experts fear a nasty surprise awaits many farmers as the end of harvest nears and they begin to grapple with changes the federal government is proposing to the income tax act. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced tax reforms July 18 in a move the Liberals say is aimed at limiting the use