A trade war could be just as damaging to farmers as a drought, so business risk management programs should be adapted to reflect this, said Tyler McCann from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. | Getty Images

Policy institute calls for open review of ag spending

It’s been 13 years since agricultural spending was reviewed, and some programs may no longer meet producer needs

A full-scale review of Canadian agricultural spending should be a top priority in this time of global uncertainty, said a new report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute.

Farmers make case for aid in case tariffs imposed

Farmers make case for aid if tariffs imposed

Uncertainty over whether the U.S. will impose tariffs on Canadian agriculture is already resulting in lost sales, meeting hears

Farmers from various Canadian agricultural sectors told federal officials this week the government must be prepared to help if tariffs take effect.


(Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

Drought leaves Canadian farmers unpaid

Failure of unlicensed companies, complaint deadline, insufficient security seen as holes in farm support

Hundreds of Canadian farmers have received delayed payments for their crops or not been paid at all, as a growing number of grain-buying firms declare bankruptcy amid drought and low commodity prices, according to interviews with dozens of farmers, a government agency, and a review of bankruptcy documents.




While the United States maintains a comprehensive general plan for its agriculture sector, the Canadian agriculture sector currently has no such plan.

Needed: a long-term vision for Canadian agriculture

Greater collaboration, consultation, and issue ownership required to manage major disruption, says report

What does Canada’s agriculture and food sector need to do to insulate itself from major disruptions? According to the latest Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) report “A Toolbox for Managing Crises,” farmers, federal policy makers, and everyone in between needs to stop working in isolation to extinguish individual fires, and adopt a more dynamic approach […] Read more

Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture at their annual conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick in July 2023.
 Photo: AAFC

Federal and provincial ag ministers meet in Fredericton

Environmental issues remain a hot topic for provincial agriculture ministers. That and sustainable agriculture dominated discussions during the recent federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting in Fredericton, N.B. The annual conference was held from July 19-21. The focus on sustainable agriculture tracks, as this is the first time the ministers have met since […] Read more



The world has been a shifting mess of volatility for a few years, and in the grains world that’s meant more chance for higher prices.

Opinion: Don’t forget about managing crop price risk

By the time you read this, spring should be well underway, with March behind us, the sun feeling good and the soil warming. That sounds all warm and comfortable after a March that’s been steely cool and uninspiring in the weather department, but we’re coming into a summer of uncertainty that calls for farmers to […] Read more