Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — Facing deeply entrenched differences and political headwinds, the top negotiators trying to reach a sweeping U.S.-European free trade deal avoided agriculture, public procurement and other thorny issues in talks this week. Instead, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Daniel Mullaney and European Commission lead negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercera said on Friday they […] Read more
U.S., European trade negotiators battle political headwinds
Their quota of doubt
TPP may not have opened the floodgates, but it will let in enough imports to alter the outlook for Canada’s dairy farmers
Reading Time: 5 minutes It would have taken a lot more than a butter knife to cut the tension on dairy farms across Canada this past year while the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators were talking behind closed doors. So now that the deal is out in the open, and now that it appears — at least on the surface […] Read more
Taking control of their dairy future
For this young couple, the future means a multi-pronged business strategy, with cost control, diversification and a focus on efficiency
Reading Time: 5 minutes Just as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was being signed last fall, Cam and Stephanie Murphy were signing a very different sort of partnership agreement. They were becoming part owners of a 45-cow dairy farm near Hastings, two hours east of Toronto. Together with Stephanie’s parents, Dean and Carol Warner, they took on a seven-figure debt […] Read more
Focusing on efficiency in dairy production
The good old days aren’t coming back, but the Bassas believe success is still possible for farms that focus from top to bottom on efficiency
Reading Time: 5 minutes In 1991, Piet and Ina Bassa sold their dairy farm in Holland, packed up their family and headed to Canada, leaving not only Europe’s high costs but also its tough environmental regulations and manure quotas that made expansion almost impossible. Importantly, their sons, Jan and Kees, were keen to start farming, so the family bought […] Read more
Profitability and sustainability in the dairy business
Kevin MacLean wants consumers and politicians to know how valuable supply management is for Canada
Reading Time: 4 minutes For Kevin MacLean, the cost of quota is just part of being in a business he loves. “I’ve never seen quota as a risk. Just like you need land to crop, you need quota to dairy farm. It’s a long-term investment.” MacLean echoes a sentiment sometimes heard in country circles. There are two things you […] Read more
Canada signs Trans-Pacific Partnership
Reading Time: 3 minutes Trade ministers from the 12 countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership have signed their trade agreement, committing them to take the deal to their home governments for review and/or approval. The deal, which Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed on Canada’s behalf on Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, is expected to see tariffs on Canadian products in […] Read more
Canada to sign TPP, but undecided on ratification
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s new Liberal government will take the “technical step” of signing a 12-nation trade deal next week but has not yet decided whether to formally ratify the agreement, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday. Canada is one of 12 nations that initialed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early October after years […] Read more
New Zealand to host TPP signing Feb. 4
Reading Time: < 1 minute New Zealand plans to host the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact by its 12 member nations on Feb. 4. The country’s trade minister, Todd McClay, confirmed in a statement Thursday that New Zealand has issued invitations to TPP ministers to sign the agreement in Auckland, marking the end of negotiations. Signing the deal […] Read more
How “free” is the free trade in agricultural equipment?
Canadian farm equipment manufacturing got a boost from free trade in 1944. What can we expect from today’s trade agreements?
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the last few years, we’ve heard a lot of passionate political speeches about so-called free trade agreements. It’s a topic that is really more than a century old in this country, going back as far as 1911 when the failed push for “Reciprocity” between Canada and the U.S. made headlines as a hot-button issue. […] Read more
Que. banks, funds boost stake in Agropur
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agropur is getting a second nine-figure cash injection from a group of Quebec institutional investors and banks, further backing the major Quebec dairy farmer co-operative’s expansion plans against an uncertain domestic market. The investor group, led by Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), said Thursday it will put up $300 million, on top […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
