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U.S. seeks new dispute panel over Canadian dairy imports

Panel would be second on matter since CUSMA took effect

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States on Tuesday said it was seeking a second trade dispute settlement panel over Canada’s dairy import quotas, charging that Canada was still not meeting obligations to open its market to U.S. producers. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it was challenging Canada’s revised tariff-rate quota (TRQ) allocations that […] Read more

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CUSMA compensation set for supply-managed sectors

Feds pledge over $1.7 billion in payments, programs

Reading Time: 3 minutes A final round of payments and programs for Canada’s supply-managed dairy and feather sectors — this time in compensation for the sequel deal to NAFTA — is now on deck for 2023 and beyond. Compensation to those sectors for domestic market concessions granted under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was telegraphed in federal Finance Minister Chrystia […] Read more


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Dairy commission fills board vacancy

Green tech CEO named to commissioner spot on CDC board

Reading Time: 2 minutes Concerns that the Canadian Dairy Commission could be caught short at its board table have been resolved with a new appointment to a vacant commissioner’s chair. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Sept. 27 announced Shikha Jain will be the CDC’s commissioner for a four-year term effective Sept. 15. Jain, who lives at Guelph, is […] Read more

After a decade in agriculture, these new farmers weigh in

After a decade in agriculture, these new farmers weigh in

Having completed their first decade, Adam and Amy Petherick, with son Lucas, take stock. They’ve met hopes, challenges, successes. What’s next?

Reading Time: 11 minutes About 2010, the tide turned. Or, the tides, with an “s.” Agriculture had finally left the gruelling 1990s behind, leading to an uptick in twenty-somethings with a realistic shot of making it on the farm. But it was also clear that this new generation was never going to start their careers the way their parents […] Read more


In a photo posted Nov. 6, incoming Berthier-Maskinonge MP Yves Perron meets with the riding’s outgoing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau to pick up active files from her constituency office. (Facebook)

Bloc Quebecois president tapped as party’s ag critic

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Bloc Quebecois will head into the House of Commons next month with a new critic handling the agriculture portfolio. Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has named Yves Perron, the rookie MP for Berthier-Maskinonge, as the party’s critic for agriculture, agri-food and supply management. As the Bloc’s ag critic, Perron replaces Mirabel MP Simon Marcil, who […] Read more

Food security is an issue in this election for 54 per cent of Canadians. (FatCamera/E+/Getty Images)

Food, farming not expected to be big election issues

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadians don’t think that food and agriculture will be a significant issue in the current federal election. A survey conducted Sept. 9 and released Tuesday by Angus Reid Global with the support of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab shows 31 per cent of Canadians believe food and agriculture will be a prime electoral issue during […] Read more


Farmer Walking Through Field Checking Wheat Crop

Time to take control

When it comes to the future of Canada’s grains sector, no one is steering the ship. We can’t let that continue

Reading Time: 6 minutes In September, I challenged farmers to think about how Canada’s agricultural production should be branded. I questioned how consumers and foreign buyers view the commodities we produce. And most importantly, I wanted every farmer to ask themselves if production practices they use add or diminish that brand. That column upset some farmers. Readers felt my […] Read more

stacks of canadian dollar coins

Black swans

What will it take to knock Canada’s farmland market out of its holding pattern?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian dollar “Excluding an extraordinary shock to production or commodity prices, a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar would have the biggest impact on the supply of farmland available for sale,” says Saskatchewan realtor Tim Hammond. A weak Canadian dollar is beneficial overall to Canadian farmers as they export the majority of […] Read more


Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, shown here Nov. 1 at a press conference in the occupied West Bank, says Canada’s objective remains getting to a Friday signing for the USMCA. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamad Torokman)

Dairy issue nags as U.S., Canada prepare to sign trade pact

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York/Ottawa | Reuters — Dairy remains a sticking point between the United States and Canada as the countries prepare to sign a new North American trade pact this week, according to four sources familiar with the matter. U.S. objections to Canada’s protected internal market for dairy products was a major challenge facing negotiators during […] Read more

A Holstein heifer on pasture in Quebec. (Lurin/iStock/Getty Images)

Trudeau takes Quebec dairy gamble to preserve big trade deal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Montreal | Reuters — With his political future at stake, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will mount a charm offensive to placate dairy farmers who say he sold them out in order to win approval of a continental trade deal. Compounding Trudeau’s challenges in the influential province of Quebec, where many dairy farmers are based, […] Read more