New federal program encourages private solutions to farm risk management Wednesday, June 19, 2013 by SUSAN MANN The federal government is resurrecting an old idea to encourage the farming industry and the private sector to develop new risk management tools for farmers. On Monday, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Pierre Lemieux announced that up to $15 million is available for developing and adopting new private sector or producer-funded agricultural risk management tools. The money will be made available under Growing Forward 2’s AgriRisk Initiatives program. Al Mussell, George Morris Centre senior research associate, says before the initial Growing Forward program was introduced in 2008 there was a program called private sector risk management partnerships. It was designed to provide resources for developing insurance-type programs and other options for industries to mitigate risks that were complimentary to existing business risk management programs, such as crop insurance. Mussell says at the time of the private sector risk management partnerships program there were “quite a number of pretty innovative projects that came out.” He notes he can infer from the government introducing the AgriRisk Initiatives program that “there is renewed interest on behalf of governments in having programs like that again. I think it makes good sense.” The government press release says the AgriRisk Initiatives program is to facilitate industry-led research and development along with the implementation and administration of new insurance-based tools for the agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors. Applications are now being accepted. The government will allocate a total of up to $3 million a year over five years for the program to fund research and development projects on potential new industry-led risk management products and services. Approved projects can be eligible for up to $500,000 annually. The money under the program can be used for: Research and development costs. Data collection and analysis. Legal and actuarial costs. Consultations. BF Marsh flood ruins farmers' growing season Farm owners fear a long-running pipeline project will damage soil
Ontario crops respond to summer heat Wednesday, July 2, 2025 According to the OMAFA Field Crop News team, Ontario field crops are showing rapid development as summer-like temperatures have dominated late June early July. The warm spell has accelerated growth and helped reduce the heat unit deficit from a cool spring. Corn fields have seen a burst... Read this article online
Canada’s Place in Global Food System Resilience Wednesday, July 2, 2025 Canada’s food system is facing serious pressure due to global supply chain issues, climate change, and rising food prices. According to a KPMG report, bold and united action is needed now to make Canada’s agriculture sector more resilient and self-reliant. With the global population... Read this article online
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online