Dan Mazier is president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.

A seat at the table

KAP isn’t calling for a carbon tax, it’s recognizing one is coming

A carbon tax is coming — that has been made perfectly clear by the federal government. However, instead of waiting for a tax to be placed on us by Ottawa, the Manitoba government has opted to develop a made-in-Manitoba solution — something that’s in the works now. During this development process, KAP is striving to

Combines harvesting crop at sunset

KAP still working on carbon pricing policy

At the same time the Manitoba government is still consulting on a made-in-Manitoba plan to battle climate change

Keystone Agricultural Agricultural Producers (KAP) is fine tuning its carbon pricing policy even though Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister declined to sign a national framework to fight climate change at a federal provincial meeting in Ottawa Dec. 9. “It doesn’t change anything with our approach and what we are looking for in the system,” KAP president


Editorial: Point of pride

Have you ever noticed how a lot of people feel like anyone who disagrees with them is too stupid to know better? Nowhere is this more widespread than the political realm and the trend seems to grow with each passing election campaign. Not only are people wrong if they disagree, they’re uniformed, irrational or biased

Farmers from the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and Keystone Agricultural Producers toured the Port of Vancouver last week, including Cargill’s grain terminal.

Western Canada’s publicly owned grain cars need replacing

Who will own the new ones and who will pay for them?

One thing most farmers and the railways agree on is the current fleet of aging government and publicly owned grain hopper cars soon needs to be replaced. Doug MacDonald, CN’s vice-president of bulk commodities, told representatives from the Alberta Federation of Agriculture (AFA), Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) Nov.

CN Rail vice-president of bulk commodities, Doug MacDonald, met with a group of farmers representing the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and Keystone Agricultural Producers at the Port of Vancouver last week to discuss ways to improve the grain-handling and transportation system.

Prairie farm leaders meet CN Rail in Vancouver

It was an attempt to build bridges and ultimately improve grain shipping, but farmers remain unclear about the impact the MRE is having on car replacements

Prairie farm leaders praised CN Rail for agreeing to meet here last week to discuss ways to improve Western Canada’s grain-handling and transportation system. “I was impressed with the openness of CN,” Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Dan Mazier said in an interview (watch a video interview further down). “I think they were genuine today.”


Minto farmer Bill Campbell says based on the erratic weather on his farm the past five years climate change is real. During a debate on carbon pricing at Keystone Agricultural Producers’ advisory council meeting in Portage la Prairie Nov. 3 he argued passionately farmers should participate in reducing greenhouse gas emission.

KAP develops carbon pricing position after intense debate

Farmers should be exempted from paying a price on emissions resulting directly from food production, while getting some of the carbon revenues to help them further reduce emissions

There was vigorous back and forth as the Keystone Agricultural Producers laid out its carbon policy Nov. 3 at the fall advisory council meeting in Portage la Prairie. At times the discussion turned emotional as both sides had strongly held views on the issue. Farmers’ should be exempted from paying a price on any carbon

Dan Mazier, KAP president.

Feds, province invest $432,000 towards farm safety education and training

Keystone Agricultural Producers will administer the new program. 
The hope is for sweeping change in attitudes towards safety, KAP president says

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) will receive a major cash injection of $432,000 over the next two years to establish a broad-reaching and extensive new farm safety program. The funds announced by both provincial and federal ag ministers last week will flow through Growing Forward 2 and used to provide practical, on-farm expertise, resources and training

Grain shippers of all types are heralding promised changes to the transportation regulatory environment announced Nov. 3 by Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

Grain sector hails transport reform

But some farm groups worry about the future of the maximum revenue entitlement

Farm groups, grain shippers, crop processors and supply chain organizations are all praising Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s plan to make Canada’s grain transportation system more competitive. But some farm groups are uneasy about the future of the maximum revenue entitlement (MRE). Speaking to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Nov. 3 Garneau announced legislation


Good grain transportation is vital to Manitoba farmers and their customers, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler told the 21st annual Fields on Wheels grain transportation conference Oct. 21.

Farmers pay the freight

That’s the message Transportation Minister Marc Garneau heard two weeks before he unveils a plan to revamp Canada’s transportation system

Western farm leaders’ meeting with Transportation Minister Marc Garneau in Saskatoon Oct. 20 appears to have been just in time. Garneau is scheduled to present his strategic plan for the future of Canadian transportation Nov. 3 in Montreal to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. The plan, which follows a review of the Canada

KAP president Dan Mazier was looking forward to discussing grain transportation issue face to face with Transport Minister Marc Garneau Oct. 20.

Farmers get Garneau meeting

KAP’s Dan Mazier and other farm leaders were to get a face-to-face meeting with the transport minister October 20 in Saskatoon to discuss changes to the Canada Transportation Act

If all goes according to plan, western Canadian farm leaders are finally going to get a chance to bend Marc Garneau’s ear. They’ve long been seeking a face to face with the federal transport minister, to tell him what changes they’d like to see to grain transportation under the Canada Transportation Act. KAP’s Dan Mazier