U.S. fiscal plan averts steep rise in milk prices

Adeal approved by the U.S. Congress late New Year’s Day to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” also includes measures to avert the “dairy cliff” — a steep increase in milk prices. The tax agreement contains a nine-month fix for expiring farm subsidy programs by extending a 2008

Efforts continue to keep Mississippi River open

The drought-drained Mississippi River has enough water for barges to maintain shipments of billions of dollars’ worth of commodities, and the White House will consider “any option” to keep it open for commerce, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said on Jan. 7. Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said the outlook for the nation’s


Dutch law will ban mink farming by 2024

Reuters/Staff –– Humane Society International-Canada is calling on the Canadian government to phase out fur farming following a decision by the Netherlands to end the practice by 2024. “Right now, the Canadian codes of practice for minks and foxes are being reviewed, and it is clear that fur farming is causing immense suffering to animals,”

U.S. crop insurance a post-election target

The federal government will likely shell out $15 billion or more for its share of crop losses caused by drought

Reuters – Federally subsidized crop insurance will be a big target for U.S. lawmakers looking to cut the budget deficit in the lame-duck session of Congress that opened recently after a status quo general election. But lawmakers aren’t expected to break their deadlock over enacting a five-year, $500-billion Farm Bill covering a wide range of


Letters — for 2012-11-22 00:00:00

CGC legislation debated many times I would like to correct the many inaccuracies contained in a recent Manitoba Co-operator article about our government’s Safe Food for Canadian Act (S-11) and changes to the Canadian Grain Act (CGA). Let me start by first assuring readers that when it comes to food safety, the health of Canadians

Grains Act amendments get good grade but could be higher

Proposed changes to the Canadian Grain Commission grade well with national farm groups, but they say the results could be even better. The commission’s operating costs “must be driven down through a more comprehensive streamlining of operations than the current amendments facilitate,” said Gordon Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada and spokesman for the Canadian Special


U.S. Farm Bill could be delayed until April 2013

Reuters / The U.S. Congress could delay passage of a new five-year Farm Bill until spring planting given the full plate of legislation needed after the election to avoid a fiscal cliff with its mandatory U.S. budget cuts, a top farm policy expert said Nov. 5. “My prediction is that we will get a Farm

How to make views known on proposed new CGC user fees

Citizens have until Nov. 30 to submit, in writing, their views on the Canadian Grain Commission’s proposed new user fees. The CGC’s User Fees Consultation and Pre-proposal Notification document is available at — https://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/consultations/2012/fees-frais/ufcpn-eng.htm. (See page 39, Annex 2, Table 6, for a list of the CGC’s current fees and proposed new fees.) Email submissions


Ritz regrets XL Foods wasn’t pushed harder

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency should have been “more vociferous” in demanding inspection data from XL Foods during the early stages of the contaminated beef crisis, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz admits. “The CFIA could have been more hard nosed,” Ritz said at Commons agriculture committee hearings on legislation that will overhaul the agency. But he

Independent look at XL needed

Four years ago, the Harper government was mired in the Maple Leaf listeria crisis and sought to reassure voters in the upcoming federal election by appointing an independent inquiry into the deadly event. While the XL Foods E. coli incident has produced only four confirmed cases of illness compared to the 22 deaths and scores