New federal program encourages private solutions to farm risk management Wednesday, June 19, 2013 by SUSAN MANN The federal government is resurrecting an old idea to encourage the farming industry and the private sector to develop new risk management tools for farmers. On Monday, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Pierre Lemieux announced that up to $15 million is available for developing and adopting new private sector or producer-funded agricultural risk management tools. The money will be made available under Growing Forward 2’s AgriRisk Initiatives program. Al Mussell, George Morris Centre senior research associate, says before the initial Growing Forward program was introduced in 2008 there was a program called private sector risk management partnerships. It was designed to provide resources for developing insurance-type programs and other options for industries to mitigate risks that were complimentary to existing business risk management programs, such as crop insurance. Mussell says at the time of the private sector risk management partnerships program there were “quite a number of pretty innovative projects that came out.” He notes he can infer from the government introducing the AgriRisk Initiatives program that “there is renewed interest on behalf of governments in having programs like that again. I think it makes good sense.” The government press release says the AgriRisk Initiatives program is to facilitate industry-led research and development along with the implementation and administration of new insurance-based tools for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors. Applications are now being accepted. The government will allocate a total of up to $3 million a year over five years for the program to fund research and development projects on potential new industry-led risk management products and services. Approved projects can be eligible for up to $500,000 annually. The money under the program can be used for: Research and development costs. Data collection and analysis. Legal and actuarial costs. Consultations. BF Marsh flood ruins farmers' growing season Farm owners fear a long-running pipeline project will damage soil
Saskatchewan Startup Unveils Portable Device to Detect Crop Diseases in the Field Friday, May 29, 2026 With global crop losses from pests and diseases reaching as high as 40 percent annually, a Saskatchewan-based startup is working to equip farmers with faster, more practical tools to protect their yields. PathoScan Technologies, founded in Saskatoon, has developed a portable... Read this article online
Falling Behind on Direct Alcohol Shipping Deadline Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada’s small alcohol producers are growing increasingly frustrated as a promised timeline for direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol shipping reforms approaches with little visible progress. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling out federal and provincial... Read this article online
Rural Canada Is Critical to Trade, Food Security and Economic Recovery Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada is facing global instability, affordability pressures and growing urgency to rebuild its economic foundations. Rural Canada is one of the country’s most important economic assets. Although only about 16% to 18% of Canadians live in rural communities, leaders say those regions... Read this article online
Feds say Provinces Need to Act on Interprovincial Alcohol Sales Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada’s federal government is intensifying pressure on provinces and territories to complete negotiations and implement direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, a move expected to benefit agricultural producers, small businesses, and consumers across the country. The statement comes out... Read this article online
$15.1M to Scale Whole-Cut Plant-Based Protein Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced a $15.1 million co-investment in a multi-partner project aimed at scaling advanced manufacturing technology for whole-cut protein alternatives and strengthening Canada’s domestic agri-food value chain. The initiative brings together NS/TX... Read this article online