Through its Fields of Purpose program in 2025, the company donated $100,000 worth of seed and crop protection products to charitable growing projects across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

The initiative builds on the community harvest fundraisers already happening in many rural areas, where farmers seed, grow and harvest a crop entirely for donation. All proceeds go to local causes or organizations such as the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

“BASF is a proud partner of Canadian growers, their communities and the causes that matter most to them,” said Leta LaRush, vice-president of BASF Agricultural Solutions Canada. “Rural communities are the heartbeat and backbone of Canada, and BASF is proud to help amplify their efforts.”

This year, 36 community fields benefited from the initiative. One of them, the Leduc & District Growing Project in Alberta, held its 20th annual harvest fundraiser on Sept. 25. BASF donated fungicide to the project, which project organizers said helped them get more for the crop.

Every bushel from the project’s fields is sold, and the proceeds are donated to the Foodgrains Bank.

“All of the inputs and the time for seeding and harvest are donated,” said one project member. “And that goes a long way.”

Growers or retailers interested in nominating a community project for 2026 can contact their local BASF representative.

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Trudeau’s Liberal government has implemented a price on carbon to combat climate change, but some lawmakers in his own party have called for changes to the scheme, in particular in Atlantic Canada where a disproportionate number of households use oil to heat their homes.

Trudeau, noting the impact of high inflation, said fighting climate change must be done while supporting all Canadians.

“This is an important moment where we’re adjusting policies so that they have the right outcome,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “We are doubling down on our fight against climate change … (while) we are supporting Canadians.”

The pause on the carbon tax on heating oil will begin in 14 days in provinces where the federal fuel charge applies, while the higher rebates for individuals and families in rural Canada will start in April 2024.

The increased rebate will be provided by doubling the rural top-up rate on the federal government’s pollution price rebate, otherwise known as the Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP), to 20 per cent from the current 10.

In Saskatchewan, for example, for the 2022 base year, an individual resident gets a baseline annual CAIP credit of $680, plus additional amounts per household for spouses/common-law partners and/or children under age 19. The top-up rate applies on the base amount.

“People who live in rural communities face unique realities, and this measure will help put even more money back in the pockets of families dealing with higher energy costs because they live outside a large city,” the government said in a release.

READ MORE: Carbon tax exemption bill C-234 clears Senate committee

Trudeau also announced measures to incentivize Canadians to install electric heat pumps. The government said switching from oil to heat pumps could save homeowners up to $2,500 a year on energy bills.

Canada, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, is aiming to cut emissions 40-45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and a steadily rising carbon price that will hit $170 a tonne by 2030, from $65 a tonne currently, is a key part of their plan.

The opposition Conservatives have vowed to scrap the carbon tax if they win the next election, set to take place by late 2025.

“After plummeting in the polls, a flailing, desperate Trudeau is now flipping and flopping on the carbon tax as I am holding a gigantic axe the tax rally in a Liberal-held Atlantic riding,” Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrote on social media platform X.

Climate and environment groups had a mixed reaction to Trudeau’s announcement.

Climate Action Network welcomed the move to accelerate the heat pump uptake and reduce energy poverty in Atlantic Canada, but others warned temporarily exempting home heating oil from carbon pricing introduced uncertainty.

“It sends the signal to emitters — and investors — that policy can be weakened in the future, diluting the carbon price’s effectiveness in driving the long-term, low-carbon investments required to reduce emissions,” said Dale Beugin, executive vice-president of the Canadian Climate Institute.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ismail Shakil and Nia Williams. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Ford, which has been Canada’s best-selling auto brand since 2009, has stated it plans to stop putting AM radios in non-commercial vehicles by 2024.

The automaker’s decision follows those of companies such as Tesla, Mazda and Volkswagen, which have removed AM receivers from their electric vehicle (EV) lines, citing electromagnetic interference the EV drivetrain can create with the AM signal.

Many rural areas and farming communities are too far from population centres to catch FM radio — making AM the only broadcast media connection for market reports, weather reports and emergency updates.

Representatives from Kubota, John Deere and Stellantis — the parent company of brands such as Chrysler, Jeep and Ram — all said in emailed statements they do not have plans to phase out AM radio in their vehicles.

But even if farming vehicles retain the AM dial, decisions like Ford’s will likely have ripple effects in rural areas.

“There’s a chain of events, of course,” said Darrin Qualman, director of climate crisis policy and action for the National Farmers Union (NFU). “If the automakers phase out the AM in their cars, then it’ll make it more likely that the radio stations will phase out AM broadcasting.

“The way that farmers and rural people are affected isn’t because they end up with the cars that don’t have the AM radios, it’s because the lack of AM radios in cars leads to the shutdown of the AM signals.”

Shifting to newer technology such as internet streaming or satellite radio would not be possible for many farmers, he added.

“Tractors, unlike cars, have a very long lifespan. Farmers keep tractors for 20, 30, 40 years or more, and they are not going to have the latest radio technology.”

Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) president Keith Currie said any new tech would not be able to match AM radio’s universality.

“Can you find certain things? Yes, like sporting events, you can typically find, but not everything’s available yet through satellite radio.”

Currie also said that since “we are a long way away” from effective cellular and 5G coverage in rural areas, the internet is not yet a viable alternative.

Currie said he is an avid AM listener.

“I live in Ontario, so I’m a big Blue Jays fan, so at night, on the tractor in particular, I’ve got the Jays game on.”

‘Need some intervention’

Another area of concern is the potential impact on emergency radio broadcasts.

“In the case of an emergency, (where) we need to communicate across vast regions or provinces all at once, I think people would turn to those AM radio sets,” Qualman said, “if we don’t have the capacity to broadcast over wide areas, it creates a problem.”

Currie said cell coverage would also be an issue when it comes to emergencies, as many would not have a strong enough signal to receive messages.

Qualman said he thinks this issue requires legislative action.

“It can’t just be shaped by the market and profitability drive of the corporate owners of radio stations,” Qualman said. “We probably need some government intervention and regulation to make sure that the AM bands that a lot of people rely on are maintained.”

“Like all things in life, times change, and we have to adapt to it, I just hope we have the resources.”

At least one attempt at such intervention is now underway south of the border.

Bipartisan groups of lawmakers on Wednesday launched legislation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that would direct that country’s transportation secretary to ensure consumers have access to AM radio in all new vehicles, without paying extra.

The proposed rule would give the secretary a year to set a standard for new motor vehicles in the U.S. to come with AM radio. Until that standard is in place, vehicles sold without AM radio receivers would have to be “explicitly labeled” for buyers.

“There is a clear public safety imperative here,” Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said in a release Wednesday from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

“Having AM radio available in our cars means we always have access to emergency alerts and key warnings while we are out on the road. Updating transportation should not mean sacrificing access to what can be lifesaving information.”

Markey also noted endorsement for the bill from the U.S. National Association of Broadcasters and National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

“Carmakers shouldn’t tune out AM radio in new vehicles or put it behind a costly digital paywall,” Markey said in his release, saying his bill aims to ensure AM “does not become a relic of the past.”

— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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Red Deer-Lacombe MP Blaine Calkins introduced his private member’s bill for first reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

“Rural Canadians too often don’t feel safe in their own homes. Many have been victimized so often they’ve given up reporting property crime. It is often difficult for people to get affordable insurance if they can get it at all,” Calkins told MPs.

“My constituents are tired of being victims, they’re tired of the revolving door of the justice system, and of crime not being taken seriously. They are losing faith in the justice system, because too often it puts criminals before victims and their families.”

Calkins said his Bill C-289 would amend the Criminal Code to add aggravating circumstances for sentencing.

If passed, it would allow sentencing to include “evidence that an offence was directed at property or persons that were vulnerable because of their remoteness from emergency services and, for the purposes of some offences, the fact that a person carried, used or threatened to use a weapon or an imitation of a weapon.”

Calkins’ proposed law would also require courts to “consider the reasons for detaining the person” prior to determining how much credit an offender should receive for time spent in custody prior to sentencing.

Private members’ bills such as C-289 rarely become law in Canada but are believed to have better chances for passage during periods of minority government such as in the current Liberal-led Commons.

Between 2018 and 2019 a parliamentary committee studied the issue of rural crime in Canada. Produced by MPs from each of the country’s major parties, it found crime in rural areas was a “growing concern.”

The majority of witnesses who participated in that study were from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Because policing is primarily a responsibility of provincial governments, MPs recommended provinces increase investments in policing and “innovative solutions” such as emergency dispatch centres.

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The province on Tuesday announced the two-year registered veterinary technologist program at Saskatchewan Polytechnic will offer a distance delivery option, starting this fall, for vet techs to train in rural and remote areas.

Eight students will be accepted for the fall intake on the new option, whereas the vet tech diploma program usually accepts 26 first-year students per year at the school’s Saskatoon campus.

Participants in the remote program would “begin their studies remotely and complete the program at a partnering clinical practice with local veterinarians,” the province said.

Students in the virtual program would have to complete the program out of a rural partnering clinic — specifically, a mixed animal clinic, Saskatchewan Polytechnic said.

The advanced education ministry will put up $687,000 for development and operating costs for the new program in 2021-22, the province said Tuesday.

Further sweetening the offer, the province on Tuesday also announced a loan forgiveness program for new graduates who practice in rural or remote areas of the province.

Under that plan, veterinarians and veterinary technologists who work in rural and remote communities for up to five years will have up to $20,000 of their Saskatchewan Student Loans forgiven, the province said.

The province noted Tuesday that three of the 20 seats it funds at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) at the University of Saskatchewan will prioritize admission of students who are “more likely to work in a large animal and/or rural mixed animal practice.”

The remote learning and loan forgiveness programs are “important to addressing a labour market shortage in rural Saskatchewan,” Advanced Education Minister Gene Makowsky said in Tuesday’s release.

The Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, for one, “has been talking about the challenge of diminished rural veterinary services for years,” association chair Arnold Balicki said in the province’s release.

The association is involved in a preceptorship partnership with Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association, he noted, to help third-year students try out practices in rural Saskatchewan.

The province’s latest steps, Balicki said, “are very welcome in ensuring cattle producers have access to veterinary services across Saskatchewan.”

“The provincial government’s move to target three rural-oriented seats will help encourage even more of our veterinary graduates to choose agriculture-focused veterinary careers,” WCVM interim dean Dr. Gillian Muir said in the same release.

A shortage of veterinarians and vet techs in rural areas hasn’t gone unnoticed in neighbouring Alberta either, where the sector is considering more ways to use vet techs in rural practices, and seeking out internationally-trained vets. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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The Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph hosted a virtual panel in May to discuss COVID-19’s social impacts, in which researchers from a variety of fields reviewed both the negative and positive takeaways so far.

Jacqui Empson Laporte works with rural communities in her role with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and also volunteers with Victim Services in Huron County, Ont. where she lives.

“In both roles, I’m seeing the stress in farmers and their families, caused by disruptions by the supply chains or even the threat of supply chain disruptions,” she said, noting market uncertainty as small businesses in small towns are trying to adapt to new consumer needs.

Victim Services in her community is small and largely volunteer-driven — and under pressure from the pandemic.

“When our volunteer base is undergoing stress at the scale COVID is pushing on our communities, it really starts to destabilize our establishments,” she said.

It increases the burden on staff, she said, and requires narrowing the scope of calls to which they respond to primarily fatalities and violence, because those incidents are likely to cause the biggest ripples in a community.

“It’s really hard to reach out for help when your stuck in your home in the same conditions that are causing the crisis, so if there is a challenge of addiction or domestic violence or mental health, people are not only isolated by distance in rural Ontario but isolated because of the travel restrictions.”

More tele-counselling opportunities are needed and could help rural communities, she said, but those opportunities are only available where there’s reliable internet service.

Helen Hambly Odame, an associate professor at the University of Guelph who focuses her research on connectivity of rural areas, said the pandemic shows “how essential broadband has become for every single Canadian, urban and rural.”

A “digital divide” that has made it difficult for some rural communities to adapt to changes resulting from the pandemic, she said, as those lacking connectivity are experiencing more isolation from society and the economy.

“We can see how essential connectivity is,” she said, adding later the internet is a current challenge but also a source of great opportunity in the future. “Let’s look at the future as one of opportunity through connectivity.”

She is also hopeful some workplaces recognize employees can successfully work from home and that “some of those workers choose to work from home in rural Ontario.” That, in turn, could become an economic driver for rural communities, she said.

Ryan Gibson, a University of Guelph associate professor who focuses on rural planning and development, told the panel the ability of people in rural communities to volunteer their time has been compromised because of COVID-19.

Many non-profits have had to rethink how they deliver services, he added.

Volunteerism has been “a really key feature” and part of the fabric of rural communities, he said, and while there are typically ebbs and flows, those communities right now ” are challenged in how they respond during the COVID-19 crisis.”

He singled out support for newcomers in rural communities.

“This pandemic has caused a disruption in terms of the supports for the newcomers, it’s challenged the ability to tap into that social fabric, to be able to participate and volunteer, to have your kids take part in extracurricular activities,” he said.

Abdul-Rahim Abdulai, a PhD student at the University of Guelph, echoed that sentiment.

“Most newcomers, like myself, can find a community in a community,” he said, adding it’s difficult to settle in without that support network. “Just moving into a new area by yourself can be very challenging, of course.”

Post-pandemic, “we need to start thinking why our responses to COVID-19 need to look different in different places,” Gibson said, because urban strategies may not be the best response for rural areas.

“One of the really important things we have to think about as we move forward is how to build place-based strategies, how do we build on the assets that are currently in our communities, within the people who live there, and how can we use those assets to meet our local priorities.”

— D.C. Fraser reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The House of Commons’ standing committee on industry, science and technology, chaired by Vancouver area Liberal MP Dan Ruimy, on Tuesday released its report and recommendations for meeting federal targets on rural broadband connectivity.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 2016 declared broadband internet to be an “essential service” in Canada and set minimal performance standards of 50-megabit per second download and 10 Mbps upload, working with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to fund broadband deployment in rural and remote areas.

However, the committee wrote, evidence it received from various stakeholders shows the digital divide to still be “prominent” in Canada and the CRTC targets “may not be appropriate to all rural and remote areas.”

Licensed incumbents in the broadband sector “tend to only invest in high-density areas that are more economically profitable,” the committee wrote, but if Ottawa were to “adapt” its regulatory framework, particularly on spectrum and network management, “small providers, non-profit providers or non-incumbent providers” could deploy rural broadband in “an economically profitable manner.”

The government also needs to “consider ways to increase the accessibility of funding programs for small providers, non-profit providers and non-incumbent providers, and consider the spectrum allocation process for the purpose of broadband deployment.”

Ottawa also needs to take steps, possibly through legislation in tandem with the provinces, for such providers to be able to accessing “existing infrastructures for the purpose of deploying broadband access,” such as granting easements or servitudes, “especially in regards to utility poles.”

The government also needs to consider the spectrum allocation process, focusing on the “scope of licences, pricing and effective use of allocated spectrum, including ensuring that small providers, non-profit providers, and non-incumbent providers have reasonable access to spectrum for broadband deployment.”

The committee also urged the government to “consider new ways of collecting service and performance data in addition to the speed of internet services, including, but not limited to, adding new indicators, using local knowledge.”

The CRTC, the committee said, should also consider not only broadband speed, but other indicators in its targets, such as “standards of parity between urban and rural centers, network performance, purchased consumer packages, latency and redundancy.”

(“Latency” refers to the time it takes for a given signal to get from a transmitter to a receiver, usually measured in milliseconds.)

The CRTC should also consider “regularly reviewing” its target broadband speeds to make sure they “remain relevant with technological development and international standards.”

Some witnesses during the committee’s hearings on the matter cautioned that the CRTC will have to “regularly update” its broadband speed targets “to keep up with technological change.”

Corroborating those witnesses, the committee said, is “the fact that actual broadband speeds in Canada substantially lag behind many countries that invest more in digital infrastructure.”

A monitoring report, the committee said, shows 99 per cent of Canadians living in rural areas have some form of internet access, including wireless, but to speeds between 1.5 and 4.9 Mbps — and only 42 per cent have access to speeds between 30 and 49.9 Mbps.

“Thus, while most Canadian communities do have Internet coverage, in many rural communities, the available speeds are so low that they only allow for a limited number of uses.” — AGCanada.com Network

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As I write this, before the election, I’m filled with the smug satisfaction of a citizen who already cast her ballot at the advance polls. I headed to Glaslyn, as instructed by my voter information card. It was actually correct. I marked my X, then drove home, happy to know that I could complain about the government for however long it lasts until the next election.

There’s been a lot of talk about how long this election was, and how nasty some of the discussion got. I’m sure many of you suffered from election fatigue. Personally, I don’t mind a little political chatter. While in Australia this summer, I compared notes with quite a few Australians. And when I got back to Canada, I followed both the thoughtful and ridiculous election coverage like a true news junkie.

But I, too, am ready to close the book on this election. So here’s hoping that whoever takes over the Prime Minister’s office can hang onto it for four years. And here’s hoping our parliamentarians keep their rural and ag constituents in mind.

• More ‘Reporter’s Notebook’ with Lisa Guenther: The story of the Riskan Hope farm

Other tricky things to talk about

In late September I headed to Calgary for the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation’s annual conference. Each year a different region organizes farm tours, professional development, and other activities for ag journalists and communications people from coast to coast. The Western Irrigation District story in this issue was part of that tour.

This year’s conference focused on the rural/urban divide and what it means to the agriculture industry. It’s a meaty topic, and it was interesting. But I have to confess, I don’t always enjoy talking about agriculture with consumers.

The main reason for my squeamishness is that I don’t always know what I’m going to get into with these conversations. Sometimes they’re interesting and productive. I have friends and acquaintances who are very well read, and even when I don’t agree with them, I respect their opinions.

But sometimes I feel like the other person is talking at me, rather than with me (and I sure hope I don’t do that to people).

Terry Church of Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch nailed down that feeling during the Farm Writers’ conference.

Food is becoming the new religion, he told us. It’s not about science. It’s about trust and being able to answer questions about how that animal was raised, he said.

But people have a right to know about food production, whether they’re curious about canola or cattle. Many of my friends are only a generation removed from the farm, so they can just ask their country cousins. But few people have that luxury these days.

So whose job is it to have these conversations with consumers? I’m writing to you, as are many of my colleagues, and I doubt too many consumers are picking up copies of Grainews. I’m also reluctant to shove that communications burden onto farmers, or at least every farmer. I know farmers and ranchers who are good at what they do, but don’t want to talk about it.

And why should they? Most farmers are producing a commodity, Ray Price pointed out at the conference. Price is co-founder of Sunterra Farms and Sunterra Market. Sunterra focuses more on freshness and quality than price, based on my visits to their south Edmonton store years ago.

Farmers are already good at what they do, Price said, and besides, there are several links in the chain between them and consumers. Instead, we should be helping retailers educate consumers, Price said, by providing them with correct information.

Sunterra Markets may be unique among food companies, though, because the Price family still raises hogs. In fact, the farming side is still bigger than the retail, Ray Price said. And although they’ll bend to their customers’ wishes to some extent, there are things they won’t bend on philosophically, he told us. They don’t see any point in selling American beef or pork when there’s plenty right in Alberta, for example. And they won’t sell products with claims that Ray Price knows are wrong.

(I got the impression that Ray Price’s B.S. detector is still intact).

Give them what they want

I doubt most food companies are able or willing to draw those lines. Trish Sahlstrom, vice president of purchasing and distribution at A&W, told us very clearly that A&W’s focus is giving consumers what they want, not educating them. That it’s about consumer choice. And Mike Olson, vice president of fresh merchandising at Overwaitea Foods, also talked about consumer choice around GMOs.

Fair enough. They are in business to make money, after all. And it’s hard to argue with providing consumers with choice.

But I’m still not sure where that leaves consumers who truly want to know more about food production. The ag sector can provide retailers and restaurants with all the facts in the world, but most of them seem hesitant to contradict their customers’ romantic view of farming.

And while this divide may not affect the day-to-day operations on your farm yet, that doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. A&W is sourcing most of its beef from the U.S. and Australia. The company is also sourcing eggs from vegetarian hens, in case you missed that one (Sahlstrom said it came down to traceability in the feed. And that Canadian chicken producers were onboard with the change).

Other quick service restaurants and retailers are pushing more requirements onto farmers. I’m not against improving animal welfare or environmental stewardship. After all, farmers have made huge improvements in the last 30 years in both those categories. But the worry is that all these requirements will make it very difficult for livestock producers (and potentially other farmers) to actually run their farms.

I think getting the urban media onto more farms is part of the solution, but that’s not a silver bullet. And you have to be willing to host them.

Sahlstrom told us that consumers value farmers telling their story. “There’s only one thing that consumers truly want and that is transparency,” she said.

So if you can talk about what you do without being condescending or hot-headed, you may want to check with your growers groups or provincial farm and food care group about speaker training.

Sure, it’s not really your job to talk to consumers about farming. But I’m not sure if anyone else is going to do it for you.

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