General

AGCanada.com here delivers a quick wrapup of 15 federal and federal/provincial ag-related funding announcements across Canada during the second half of March, up until the federal election call on Saturday. March 25 Pumped-up packer, Manitoba: The federal Slaughter Improvement Program has pledged a repayable contribution of up to $2.8 million for packing plant upgrades at […] Read more

The final few in a series of public meetings to help develop the sequel to the Growing Forward ag policy funding framework have been cancelled. On the “industry and public engagement” page at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s website for Growing Forward 2 — a page last updated Tuesday — the federal government said the “in-person […] Read more

Tuesday’s Ontario budget commits the province’s ag ministry to extend its risk management program (RMP) past its pilot stage, and to broaden its coverage beyond grains and oilseeds to include cattle, hogs, sheep and veal. Lobbying efforts to make the RMP permanent, with or without federal co-funding, have been a priority in recent weeks for […] Read more

Farmer groups are largely positive on proposed spending for agricultural research and innovation in a federal budget that’s expected to die and send Canada into a spring election. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget, released Tuesday in the House of Commons, calls for $25 million in additional spending in each of the next two fiscal […] Read more

The “country foods” harvested and processed in Canada’s North will be eligible for the retail subsidies other foods will get from the federal Nutrition North Canada program. Country foods are those obtained through local hunting, fishing or harvesting activities, such as caribou, seal, ptarmigan, arctic char, shellfish or berries. “Having spent time living in the […] Read more

A two-year grace period for organic food producers to get ready for new federal regulations has only 15 more weeks to go, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warns. The federal Organic Products Regulations which took effect at the end of June 2009 have since been managed by CFIA through its “Stream of Commerce and Enforcement […] Read more

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, as of March 16, is going online with the outcomes of its enforcement work on food safety. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Wednesday announced the CFIA will issue reports on such activities, including information such as: food imports that have been refused entry into Canada; federally registered food establishments […] Read more

AGCanada.com here delivers a quick wrapup of a dozen federal and federal/provincial ag-related funding announcements across Canada during the first half of March. March 15 Functional foods, Manitoba: The Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network, a brain trust made up of several research centres meant to “link the health benefits of Prairie-grown and -made foods to diets […] Read more

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s first agriculture minister has announced he won’t seek re-election. Chuck Strahl, the MP for the Chilliwack area in B.C. since 1993 and Harper’s agriculture minister from February 2006 to August 2007, is one of three B.C. Conservative MPs who announced Saturday they won’t run in the next federal election. Strahl, in […] Read more