Feds lean on USA to get rid of labelling law Friday, November 22, 2013 by SUSAN MANN The Canadian federal government continues to pressure American legislators to repeal the mandatory Country of Origin Labelling law. This week, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz along with Alberta Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson and Canadian livestock industry officials were in Washington D.C. During a telephone press conference Thursday afternoon, Ritz says he met with a number of key players in the American Senate and House of Representatives “to end this discriminatory law.” Ritz described the meetings with American legislators as positive. American legislators are currently working on a new U.S. Farm Bill and Canadian representatives have said the U.S. should repeal the labelling law in the bill. Each day country of origin labelling is in place there are lost or discounted sales opportunities “for our hard-working Canadian livestock producers,” Ritz says. Ritz adds he told American Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack the Unites States must comply with its trading obligations and fix the mandatory labelling law once and for all. “Our message remains the same - with the integration of the North American market, it’s in the best interests of both Americans and Canadians to fix” country of origin labelling, Ritz says. “It’s a broken record, but we’ll keep playing it until we get some positive action from the United States administration.” A Canadian Pork Council news release dated today says Canadian hog farmers have suffered massive economic hardship as American food distributors don’t want to deal with “a multitude of different origin labels.” Swine and beef export losses have totaled more than $1 billion annually since country of origin labelling became mandatory in the fall 2008. The Washington meetings follow others that were held in Chicago two weeks ago, Ritz says, to meet with the American livestock and meat industry representatives. At that time, Ritz says he assured industry leaders Canada would continue pressuring the United States to repeal the labelling law. Not everyone in the United States agrees. A National Farmers Union (no connection to the organization in Canada) press release dated Nov. 5 says, “recent threats by the Canadian Agriculture Minister are unjustified and out of line. As a sovereign nation, we should not take direction from Canada.” BF (with files from Better Farming staff) New York equity firm acquires Ontario farm implement manufacturer Tight milk board election contested
BASF introduces Surtain herbicide for field corn growers Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Field corn growers in eastern Canada have a new crop protection product available to them. After about 10 years of research and trials, BASF has introduced Surtain, a residual herbicide for corn that combines PPO inhibitor saflufenacil (Group 14) and pyroxasulfone (Group 15) in a premix... Read this article online
We Didn’t Start the Fire! Impacts of Wildfire Smoke on Corn Monday, September 16, 2024 Assistant Professor of Corn Production at Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, Daniel Quinn, PhD. recently provided fascinating insights into the impacts of fire on major corn producing areas, many of which have been impacted by smoke from wildfires. Quinn was the keynote... Read this article online
New home for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario Saturday, September 14, 2024 The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO) has announced it has moved into its new office building in Ingersoll. Located at 274620 27th Line in Ingersoll, the new office will serve as the hub for CFFO’s ongoing efforts to advocate for and support Ontario’s Christian farmers.... Read this article online
Canadian Ag Youth Council Welcomes new Members Saturday, September 14, 2024 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced the latest members to join the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council (CAYC). This update introduces nine fresh members alongside thirteen returning youths, marking a significant step towards involving young voices in agricultural... Read this article online
New CEO for Livestock Research Innovation Corporation Friday, September 13, 2024 Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC) is promoting from within with the appointment of the organization’s newest Chief Executive Officer. Industry Services Manager Kelly Somerville has been tapped to assume the role as of September 3, replacing retiring CEO Mike McMorris.... Read this article online