CFA in Action - National Ag Leaders Debate, Wetlands Roundtable...

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National Ag Leaders Debate Set for Sept. 30

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture will be hosting a National Agriculture Leaders Debate in the lead up to the October 19 election. The debate will highlight issues facing Canadian famers and give an opportunity for each party to outline its platform positions as they pertain to Canada's farm and food future.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 30, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (EDT)

WHO:

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Hon. Gerry Ritz
Malcolm Allen, NDP Agriculture Critic, TBC
Mark Eyking, Liberal Agriculture Critic
Bruce Hyer, Deputy Leader, Green Party
Bloq Québécois, representative TBC

WHERE: Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel (the Laurier Room), Ottawa

RSVP & WEBCAST REGISTRATION: Please register in advance for the webcast and RSVP if attending in person. Registration information, as well as details on farmers' priorities for the upcoming election, can be viewed here.

Platform 2015: Agriculture

Video from the recent Hill Times Panel - Platform 2015: Agriculture is now available online here. The event featured plenty of informative discussion from the speakers - CFA President Ron Bonnett, Bruce Muirhead from the University of Waterloo, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute President and CEO David McInnes, and Grace Skogstad from the University of Toronto and author of Internationalization and Canadian Agriculture: Policy and Governing Paradigms - regarding various agriculture policy issues and the Federal Election.

Canadian Milk Matters

Canadians care about Canadian milk. In a survey conducted in July 2015, 91% of Canadians said it was important that the milk products they use come from Canadian farmers. The Canadian government is close to signing a new trade agreement that may have a significantly negative impact on Canadian dairy farmers.

If, like the vast majority of Canadians, you care about your Canadian milk, please visit www.canadianmilkmatters.ca to show your support by sending a letter to your local Member of Parliament.

AgriInvest Survey for Producers

Are you a producer who wants a better AgriInvest program? One with higher matching contributions that that allows you to better manage risk and invest in your farm? If yes, then the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and its member organizations need your help. Fill out this survey , it will only take three to five minutes, and help us get the information we need to design a better AgriInvest program.

Grower Request Own Use Program

The CFA is seeking nominations of pesticide products to consider for the Grower Request Own Use (GROU) program until Friday, October 9. The GROU program allows producers to import pesticide products from the U.S. provided the product is also available in Canada and chemically identical, past the exclusive use period and manufactured by the same company. This program is especially useful for products which remain much cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada.

The CFA hosts a page with a list of products that were nominated in previous years but were found to be ineligible. The current list of GROU products can be found here.

For more information or to nominate a product for the GROU program in the 2016 growing season, please contact Drew Black, CFA Director of Environment and Science Policy, at [email protected].

Canadian Wetlands Roundtable

The past six months have seen the nascent Canadian Wetlands Roundtable (CWR) develop and refine its terms of reference, workplan and other background documents. On August 26, the CWR held a call amongst its members to present and discuss the updated documents and outline expected work to take place in the next year. The CWR will still need to develop and finalize its fee structure to ensure the Roundtable will be on sound financial footing.

The development of the CWR has been supported by a grant from Wildlife Habitat Canada and the steering committee is composed of the CFA and Ducks Unlimited Canada who will be the secretariat. It is expected that over the coming months, a website and communications materials will be developed and that an in-person forum will be held in March 2016 in Ottawa.

Please contact Drew Black at [email protected] if you would like further information.

Climate Change Symposium

Registration for the Canadian Climate Forum's Food Security and Climate Change Symposium is now open. CFA President Ron Bonnett and OFA President Don McCabe are both scheduled to speak at the event, which will explore the challenges that climate change poses to food security. The event will take place in Ottawa on November 12 and 13. More information and a preliminary agenda is available here.

Study Looking at the Family Farm

CFA staff recently met with Dr. Irena Knezevic from Carleton University, in regards to a study entitled Canadian "family farm" in the twenty-first century. This study aims to better understand how the term "family farm" applies to today's farms in Canada. The research team consists of Irena Knezevic (Carleton University), Kelly Bronson (St. Thomas University) and Chantal Clement (graduate student at Carleton University).

Researchers are interested in speaking to Canadian farmers over the age of 18, whose farms fit the designation of a family farm. For the purposes of the study, a family farm is any farm not managed by a commune, co-operative, or a non-family corporation. Anyone interested in participating will be asked for one 30 to 60 minute phone interview. If you would like to participate in this research project, or have any questions, please contact Dr. Irena Knezevic at 613-526-2600 ext. 4121 or [email protected].