Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s grain industry expects the federal government will soon officially declare agriculture an essential service. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), says that designation will have a practical application. “Hopefully it ends all confusion about grain workers at elevators, railway workers and anybody else required for moving grain, as to […] Read more
Ottawa expected to ‘officially’ declare ag an essential service
The Western Grain Elevator Association says that designation will clarify things and help to keep grain moving
Pet food investment firm buys Ontario raw food maker
Tollden Farms to join United Raw Pet Foods
Reading Time: 2 minutes A Toronto-area investment firm billed as “the pet industry’s merchant bank” has bought control of its fifth Canadian maker of frozen raw pet foods in three years. Mississauga-based Dane Creek Capital Corp., the 70 per cent controlling shareholder in United Raw Pet Foods, announced Thursday that United Raw has bought Tollden Farms of Kemptville, Ont. […] Read more
CFA seeks immediate cash for farmers
Farm and industry leaders say more needed beyond measures already announced
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the federal government to provide immediate stimulus to farmers through business risk management (BRM) programs as part of its ongoing response to COVID-19. At a recent board meeting, the organization representing about 200,000 farmers across Canada passed motions calling for increased funding to the AgriInvest BRM program — and […] Read more
Cross-border truckers exempt from mandatory isolation
TFWs coming to Canada won't be exempt from new rule
Reading Time: 2 minutes Truckers and others who are still allowed to cross into Canada on essential business are exempt from a new two-week self-isolation rule for people arriving in the country. Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Wednesday announced an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act, requiring anyone who’s entering Canada by land, air or sea to self-isolate […] Read more
Farm suppliers race COVID-19 spread for planting season
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North America’s biggest farm suppliers are accelerating shipments of fertilizer, seeds and agricultural chemicals to crop-growing regions in an unprecedented race against the coronavirus that threatens to disrupt planting season. The timing could not be worse for farmers preparing to plant crops. Disruptions in deliveries of fertilizer, seeds or chemicals could […] Read more
Quebec ag lender offers break on loan payments
Crop insurance enrolment deadline also postponed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Quebec’s provincial farm lending agency is set to offer a six-month moratorium on loan repayments to any customers who ask for one, against what it describes as a “crisis” for the ag sector. La Financiere agricole du Quebec (FADQ) said Saturday the six-month stay would help lighten the obligations for farm businesses, providing them liquidity […] Read more
Cash advance repayment deadlines extended
FCC gets added capital to boost lending capacity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian farmers who have repayment deadlines coming up on their cash advances between now and the end of April will get extra time to repay those loans. The federal government on Monday announced a stay of default on loans coming due on or before April 30 under the Advance Payments Program (APP), among other measures […] Read more
Wheat in Whitehorse: How climate change helps feed Canada’s remote regions
Newfoundland and Labrador also pushing to expand arable land base
Reading Time: 3 minutes Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — After failing to grow wheat in the Yukon territory 15 years ago, farmer Steve Mackenzie-Grieve gave it another shot in 2017. Thanks to longer summers, he has reaped three straight harvests. This spring he plans to sow canola on his family’s 450-acre farm near Whitehorse, a city not much further from […] Read more
Plans in development to get temp foreign workers into Canada
Maximum stay for 'low-wage' stream workers extended to two years
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada now plans to seek authorizations for flights to get foreign temporary and seasonal farm workers into the country, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Saturday. The federal government said this week that temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and workers coming to Canada under the Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP) will be exempt from the current federal […] Read more
Temporary foreign workers to be allowed in, Canada reiterates
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will allow temporary foreign workers with valid visas to enter the country, officials said on Friday, offering possible salvation to the agriculture industry even as Ottawa moves to limit the spread of a coronavirus outbreak. Canada’s labour-strapped farms rely heavily on nearly 60,000 temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to help plant […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
