Ag News

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) have reached tentative agreements with the Treasury Board and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

A media release from  PSAC notes that the agreement, representing over 9000 CBSA members was reached after nine days of around-the-clock negotiations.

The new four-year agreement running until June 2026 includes a total compounded wage increase of 15.7 per cent, enhanced protections relative to technological changes, and better shift scheduling and leave provisions. 

The numbers are in Cargill Case Ready workers  (members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 401) have voted 100 per cent in favor of a strike.

The Calgary based plant produces counter ready meat from Cargill's beef plant at High River cutting, weighing and packaging it for retail.

Key issues in the negotiations focus around income security, overtime and a lack of guaranteed hours.

The union - UFCW Local 401 - has applied to the Provincial Government for secondary picketing at every Wal-Mart, Sobeys and Loblaws location in Alberta.

The Canadian Cattle Association and Canadian Cattle Youth Council are concerned with Ottawa's plans to push through capital gains changes.

The proposed changes would see the lifetime capital gains exemption increase from $1 million to $1.25 million, while the capital gains tax, which is paid after that, change from 50 per cent to 67 per cent.

Canadian Cattle Youth Council President Scott Gerbrandt says they are concerned about the proposed increase and what it could mean for family farms.

The province originally announced plans for the Saskatchewan Marshals Service in November 2022, with legislation laying the foundation for the new police service being introduced on November 7, 2023.

Chief Marshal Rob Cameron was hired a few weeks later and comes to the job with an extensive career in law enforcement.

Following his retirement from the RCMP, he served as the province's executive director of policing and, in 2019, was appointed as the assistant deputy minister for policing and community safety services.

Cattle producers across the Prairies still have time to purchase calf insurance under the Livestock Price Insurance program. 

The program allows producers to manage their risk by providing protection against unexpected drops in prices over a defined period of time.

Saskatchewan's program coordinator, Jodie Griffin, says the calf price insurance deadline is Thursday, June 13th for producers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

She notes they've seen a lot of interest in the calf program and strong interest in the feeder program as well.

The cattle industry is taking a page out of science fiction with the government of Canada investing just over 1 and a half million dollars to help improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle. In a release,

"Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced up to $1,627,270 to the Canadian Angus Association (CAA), through the AgriScience Program – Projects Component, to help improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle."

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay met with U.S. officials last week to strengthen our relationship and share priorities on food production and security.

MacAulay travelled to Des Moines, Iowa, to take part in the World Pork Expo, and met with Iowa's Governor and Secretary of Agriculture where he highlighted the importance of the strong and secure Canada-U.S. agri-food trade relationship and reinforced Canada's role as a reliable and indispensable trading partner.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture has released a new study on Soil Health in Canada.

The new study "Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada's Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health" looks at the current status of our soils and puts forward 25 recommendations for improving and maintaining our soils.

Committee Chair Senator Rob Black says one of the recommendations, and probably one of the most important ones in his mind is for the Federal Government to recognize a sense of urgency and act accordingly to protect and conserve our soils.

The Canadian Angus Association will receive over $1.6 million to improve genetic evaluation tools for Canadian beef and dairy cattle.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced the funding on Friday noting that Canada's world-class cattle industry contributes significantly to our country's economy. 

"By investing in new innovations and technologies, we can enhance the industry's economic and environmental sustainability -  putting more money in the pockets of producers, and more top-quality Canadian products on tables around the world."

We are still waiting on a decision from the Canada Industrial Relations Board regarding Ottawa's request to consider whether the movement of certain specific commodities, including grain, if it were to be halted due to a labour disruption would affect the health and safety of Canadians.