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Upcoming Meetings
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-July (date TBD): Meeting with Credit Union Central of Canada
- July 4: Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council National Agricultural Occupational Framework Advisory Group
- July 7: Meeting with Elizabeth Soal from New Zealand regarding water resource strategies
- July 14-16: CFA Summer Board Meeting, Winnipeg
-October 21-23: CFA Board Meeting, Ottawa
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If you have anything you would like to include in the CFA in Action, please let us know by noon the Friday before each update at [email protected].
We ask that you further distribute these briefs to your membership.
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U.S. farm film to be widely available soon
Farmland, the film featuring an intimate look at the lives of U.S. farmers and ranchers in their 20's, was launched last week at select theatres in the U.S. The film, which was made with the support of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, "provides a first-hand glimpse into the lives of young farmers and ranchers - the high-risk and high reward jobs and the passion for a way of life passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve."
Intrigued by how this film addresses several of the issues we are facing and working to address in Canada, the CFA - along with colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan and Ag-West Bio - was in touch with the film's distributors to find out if there would be an opportunity to host viewings in Canada. After some discussion (and a rather cost-prohibitive price tag of $10,000 for one private viewing) we have learned that the film will be made more widely available via Netflix, Hulu and Amazon as of October 1. In the interim, the film's trailers can be viewed here. We will provide more information as it is available in the coming months regarding the availability of this film.
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The chief negotiators from the Trans-Pacific Partnership will be in Ottawa July 3 -12 to continue trying to hammer out a trade deal amongst the 12 nations. These gatherings are typically followed by ministerial meetings to gauge the progress of the talks and provide political direction to the negotiators, but no ministerial meeting has been scheduled for Ottawa.
It is believed that the Ottawa negotiations will focus on less controversial issues given that participating countries are still unclear on the details of the bilateral talks and agricultural market access negotiations between the United States and Japan.
Nevertheless, CFA will monitor the tasks throughout the 10 days and report on anything substantial. As well, officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will provide an update on these talks at the CFA summer meeting in Winnipeg.
For more information, please contact Errol Halkai at [email protected].
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Expedited Transportation Act review announced
On June 25, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced that the review of the Canada Transportation Act has formally commenced and will focus first on western grain transportation issues.
The review will be led by former federal cabinet minister David Emerson, who will be assisted by five industry advisors. The review is expected to take 18 months and it is anticipated that recommendations will be submitted to the minister by late next year. Transport Canada officials will provide an overview of the review to CFA's Crop Transportation Committee at its July 14 meeting in Winnipeg.
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CFA comments on CFIA draft agency inspection model
On Friday, June 27, CFA staff provided comments to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regarding their draft agency inspection model. CFA recommended improved clarity regarding the licensing requirements facing producers, recognition of on-farm food safety programs for preventative control plans and the need for proactive communication of any planned changes to CFIA's approach to oversight. The full submission can be read here.
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Upcoming discussion on water resources
Elizabeth Soal from Waitaki Irrigators Collective Ltd. in New Zealand will be meeting with CFA and any interested members on Monday, July 7 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm at the CFA office (21 Florence Street, Ottawa).
The Waitaki Irrigators Collective represents the interests of five irrigation schemes and a society of independent irrigators in New Zealand's Lower Waitaki River catchment.
Ms. Soal is on a tour of Canada to share her perspectives from New Zealand and to learn how water resources, and in particular irrigation, are managed in Canada. All those interested in attending, please contact Drew Black at [email protected]. A teleconference line will be made available for those outside of Ottawa.
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CFA comments on the NCP
Last week, CFA submitted a letter to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, with recommendations on the implementation of the National Conservation Plan.
In the letter, CFA called for the government to ensure that the NCP is implemented in a manner that is relevant to farmers and which builds on the important programs and steps that the agriculture sector has already taken to conserve habitat, while also reiterating CFA's desire to work with the government during the implementation process for the NCP. Read the entire letter here.
For more information, please contact Drew Black at [email protected].
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Syngenta's Good Growth Plan looks to reward innovative ideas
With a global population growing by 200,000 every day, by 2050 there will be more than 9 billion people on the planet. That's 2 billion more than are here today. Since farmland and fresh water are already precious resources, the question is: how will we feed everyone?
Syngenta launched The Good Growth Plan last fall to help by striving to reach objectives in six measurable commitments. Now the company is inviting everyone to help tackle the challenge by submitting ideas through The Good Growth Plan Grant Contest.
A panel of judges will select the winning entries and will distribute cash awards to the top four innovators to help implement their ideas.
The deadline for submissions is July 14, 2014. For more details, including eligibility, please click here. |
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