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Federal carbon tax rises despite opposition, pandemic

Ottawa not backing away from scheduled increases

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — The federal government has pushed ahead with an increase to the carbon tax despite continued calls from the agriculture sector for reprieve from the program. The price on carbon rose from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne effective April 1. The federal Liberal government is standing firm on its commitment to increase […] Read more

Members of Grain Farmers of Ontario sport a banner outside a provincial cabinet minister’s office in 2015. (File photo by Ralph Pearce)

GFO quits Grain Growers of Canada

Grain Farmers of Ontario flags national group's 'governance' and structure

Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain Farmers of Ontario has dropped out of Grain Growers of Canada. The Ontario organization, which represents about 28,000 barley, corn, oat, soybean and wheat farmers in the province, cited a lack of representation in the national policy group. GFO publicly announced its withdrawal in a news release on Thursday, days after it informed the […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Grain groups give low marks to AgriStability tweaks

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — A recent meeting of the country’s agriculture ministers failed in providing effective support for farmers facing challenges, Grain Growers of Canada chair Jeff Nielsen says. Only minor changes were made to AgriStability, the main priority item on the agenda for the Ottawa meeting held Tuesday. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her provincial […] Read more

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Canadian agricultural exporters urge Trans Pacific Partnership without U.S.

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), added its voice to the long list of Canadian agricultural exporters urging the federal government to achieve a trade deal with the 11 remaining Trans Pacific Partnership members. The planned summit in Vietnam next week represents a unique opportunity for Canada to take the forefront in negotiations as the […] Read more



Men watching sunset

Are Canada’s farm organizations actually listening to their members?

Amid the falling commodity prices and rising input costs, one question is getting louder. Who do our farm organizations really represent?

Reading Time: 7 minutes The last few years have been tumultuous for Canadian grain farmers, especially in the West. Not only have we seen the end of the single-desk CWB monopoly, but we also watched as Ottawa passed Bill C-18, the Agriculture Growth Act (which included the approving UPOV 91) and as major changes were made to AgriStability. Farmers […] Read more