(Staff photo)

Sollio outlines pandemic recovery plan for food sector

Support sought for automation, digitization, telecommunications

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa — One of Canada’s largest agri-food companies has laid out a five-point industry recovery plan for federal politicians to consider. During a meeting Tuesday of the Commons standing committee on finance, the president of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group shared plans to limit consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agrifood supply chain. Sollio employs […] Read more

A video screengrab from the ‘It’s Good, Canada’ campaign. (ItsGoodCanada.ca)

Two national campaigns launched for food supply chains

It's good, one campaign says, but could the sector have done better, another asks

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa — The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity is launching a new campaign to inform consumers on how the food system works. “It’s Good, Canada” will share personal stories of Canadians working across the food supply chain and provide information about farming, transportation, processing, retail and production on its website. “It’s natural for Canadians to […] Read more


Sea surface temperature anomalies on the tropical Pacific Ocean for the week centred on May 20, 2020. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

El Nino, La Nina patterns not seen prevailing during summer

Reading Time: < 1 minute London | Reuters — Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific remain neutral, meaning that neither El Niño nor La Niña weather patterns are prevailing, the U.N. World Meteorological Organisation said on Thursday. The El Niño pattern brings a warming of ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific every few years, and is […] Read more

Plants at Delta 9 Cannabis’ indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Legalization lifts Canada’s net farm income in 2019

Livestock receipts up, unsmokeable crop receipts lower

Reading Time: 3 minutes A significant year-over-year increase Canada booked last year in realized net farm income rests mainly on 2019’s status as the country’s first full year in the recreational cannabis market. Statistics Canada on Tuesday released full-year data on farm income, pegging Canada’s realized net farm income for 2019 at $4.9 billion — a 10.4 per cent […] Read more


(Outdoorfarmshow.com)

Outdoor Farm Show relocating to cyberspace for 2020

In-person event cancelled due to COVID-19

Reading Time: < 1 minute Another major event on Eastern Canada’s fall farming calendar has halted its up-close-and-in-person plans for 2020 but expects to follow its western sister event into virtual space. Glacier FarmMedia, the owner/operator of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and of this website, announced Monday it will cancel its event scheduled for Sept. 15-17 at Canada’s Outdoor Park […] Read more

(Jevtic/iStock/Getty Images)

Report links business management, mental health of farmers

Farm women, young farmers report higher levels of stress, difficulties coping

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — A new report from Farm Management Canada (FMC) calls for action after determining 75 per cent of Canadian farmers reported being moderately to highly stressed about unpredictable interference, workload pressure and financial pressures. But how a farmer plans his or her business — and associated risks — can help lower that statistic. The […] Read more


EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU plans to halve pesticide use, expand organic farming

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said on Wednesday it planned to increase organic farming and cut agricultural chemical use to protect the environment, proposals welcomed by green groups but which farmers said would make them less flexible. Agriculture is a contributor to climate change – producing around 10 per cent of EU greenhouse […] Read more

A flat of young vegetable plant seedlings outside of a greenhouse, waiting to be transplanted, at a farm in rural New Brunswick

New Brunswick to lift ban on temporary foreign workers

Damage 'already been done' for farmers, NFU-NB says

Reading Time: 2 minutes New Brunswick plans to end its ban on the entry of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) next week as the province moves to the “yellow” level in its COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan. The ban, announced April 28, will end effective May 29, Premier Blaine Higgs said Friday in an announcement some farmers say comes too late […] Read more


Ag Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks at Cigi in Winnipeg on March 13, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

CEBA expanded to farms, other ‘owner-operated’ businesses

Program offers zero-interest, partly-forgivable loans

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farms and other “owner-operated” businesses with little or no payroll may soon be able to get in on a federal program offering zero-interest loans to businesses up against pandemic-related drops in revenue. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced an expansion of eligibility under the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to also include “sole proprietors […] Read more