Technology has always been a driving force behind productivity growth in Canadian agriculture, and the trends of mechanization and increasing farm scale have typically been associated with a need for fewer people. The threshing crews making the rounds a century ago harvesting the annual crop were replaced by tractors and threshing machines. Herbicides reduced the […] Read more
Tag Archives labour — page 11
Comment: Agriculture needs more people and investment
Opinion: Open letter to Ontario mushroom farmers
You are to be applauded for your development of the specialty mushroom industry but the consolidation of your button mushroom industry is all but complete. The $50 million that used to be shared by more than 300 family operations in the button mushroom industry in Ontario is now consolidated into a few hands. A monopoly […] Read more
Ag sector growth will take investments in skills, tech now: RBC
One of Canada’s big six banks bets the agriculture sector’s gross domestic product could rise by nearly 60 per cent over the next decade if it were to have enough people, capital and access to new technology where ag lives. A report released by RBC on Tuesday titled “Farmer 4.0” estimates Canadian ag GDP could […] Read more
Foreign workers leave families behind, but also see opportunity
More workers from other countries are filling empty farming roles, including on hog farms
Farmtario will continue to check in with Helen Espinola as she settles into her two-year work term in Canada. Helen Espinola left behind her husband and two children in the Philippines to work on a hog barn on the norther border of Huron County. She’s a farrowing room technician who says she loves working with […] Read more
USMCA dispute panel fix must be ‘across the board,’ Mexico says
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico sees a push to close a dispute resolution loophole in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal as a way to protect its interests as well as helping satisfy demands by U.S. Democrats that the deal contain stricter labour measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Mexico […] Read more
USMCA deal modestly boosts U.S. economy, trade panel finds
Washington | Reuters — The new North American free trade pact would modestly boost the U.S. economy, especially auto parts production, but may curb vehicle assembly and limit consumer choice in cars, a hotly anticipated analysis from the U.S. International Trade Commission showed on Thursday. The ITC report is a crucial step in the push […] Read more
Vegetable growers get first-hand look at transplanting system
New technology, originally developed for planting lettuce, can save time and labour costs
Farmers near Chatham got a chance to see an automated vegetable-transplanting system first-hand during a recent field demonstration. The technology featured at the June 14 event illustrates future options for growers looking to save time and labour costs. It was originally developed in California as a way to more efficiently plant lettuce and a handful […] Read more
Sharp differences over labour surface at NAFTA trade talks
Mexico City | Reuters — Tensions over sharp differences in pay between Mexican workers and their Canadian and U.S. counterparts surfaced on Sunday as negotiators discussed labour market rules in talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada’s biggest private-sector union said NAFTA should be scrapped if Mexico cannot agree to better labour […] Read more
Trump reassures farmers immigration crackdown not aimed at their workers
Washington/San Francisco | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would seek to keep his tough immigration enforcement policies from harming the U.S. farm industry and its largely immigrant workforce, according to farmers and officials who met with him. At a roundtable on farm labour at the White House last month, Trump said he […] Read more
Pacific trade pact countries seek ‘progressive’ way forward
Vina Del Mar, Chile | Reuters — The remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are seeking a way forward on the trade pact, they said on Wednesday, as some emphasized the need for deals to address concerns about workers’ rights and other issues. The TPP, which originally covered some 40 per cent of global […] Read more
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