Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government is boosting the availability of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to ag and other understaffed sectors under a list of policy changes announced Monday. Employment and Workforce Development Minister Carla Qualtrough announced what’s called the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map, which the government said “marks the next step in […] Read more
Changes to TFW program to expand worker availability
Workplace LMIAs now valid for 18 months
Drought severity easing across much of Prairies, AAFC reports
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Drought conditions persisted across much of the Prairies during the month of March, although the extent and severity of the dryness was reduced in many areas, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). “While there have been substantial improvements to drought conditions across Western Canada since last […] Read more
Advance Payments Program to offer 100 per cent up front
Feds temporarily waive 60 per cent up-front limit
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian farmers seeking pre-production cash advances under the federal Advance Payments Program ahead of this year’s spring seeding will be able to get the entire eligible amount up front. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced a “temporary waiving” of the program’s usual requirement that pre-production cash advances be issued in instalments of 60 […] Read more
U.N. to roll out global early-warning systems for extreme weather
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters –– With climate change fueling dangerous weather worldwide, the United Nations is pledging that early-warning weather monitoring will cover everyone on the planet in five years. “Half of humanity is already in the danger zone,” U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier this week. And yet, “one-third of the world’s people, mainly in […] Read more
The ‘how’ of success
Most farmers have great ideas but only a fraction turn them into businesses. Even fewer become profitable. John Cote wanted to know why
Reading Time: 9 minutes John Cote already knew a thing or two about adding value to farm-grown ingredients and about how to run a successful company in the value-added sector even before he set out to study how other business owners are doing it. In 2010, the fifth-generation Saskatchewan farmer and his spouse and business partner, Barb Stefanyshyn-Cote, gave […] Read more
Antitrust probe in ag inputs dropped
Communications over FBN still 'concerning,' Competition Bureau says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Allegations suggesting ag chem sector players tried to derail an online farm-supply firm’s business in Western Canada haven’t turned up enough evidence for federal regulators to probe the matter further. Canada’s Competition Bureau announced Tuesday it’s now closed an investigation it launched in 2019 over allegations brought forward by the Canadian arm of Farmers Business […] Read more
Saskatchewan pushes crop insurance deadline to mid-April
'Logistical challenges' led to extension
Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan farmers will get an extra couple of weeks to apply for, cancel, reinstate or change their crop insurance contracts for 2022, due to holdups in the delivery of their application packages. That deadline, originally March 31, has now been extended to April 14, provincial Ag Minister David Marit and his federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau […] Read more
Most of Prairies still very dry, but recovery possible
Southern Manitoba considered out of drought
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Despite the Prairies receiving above-normal amounts of precipitation during February, the great majority of the region remained highly vulnerable to more dryness going into spring, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor. The monitor’s latest report showed those areas of the Prairies tackling extreme drought to have retracted somewhat. As of Feb. 28, that […] Read more
Three farms find ways to live it up
Yes, farms can aim at five-star markets, as Nuffield farms show around the world
Reading Time: 7 minutes When we think of farm diversification here in Canada, we usually imagine new crops or livestock, maybe some value-adding, or possibly some entry-level agri-tourism. How often, though, would you think of going after the top end of a luxury market? Below, meet three farms that have successfully diversified their income streams by targeting luxury offers […] Read more
WFP ramps up food aid to Ukraine amid reports of severe shortages
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — The World Food Programme said on Friday it is ramping up food aid to war-torn Ukraine, citing reports of severe shortages of food and water in Kyiv, the capital, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The U.N. agency said it is in the process of finding partners in Ukraine to help […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
