Ontario's flower growers to register premises Saturday, March 24, 2012 by SUSAN MANNOntario flower growers will be registering their premises with OnTrace as the first step in the development of a reliable traceability and bio-security strategy for the floriculture industry.Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. has developed a program called B-Fast B-Secure to support its mission to enhance the profitability and competitiveness of Ontario’s floriculture industry. The premises registry is being done as part of that program. The traceability strategies being implemented will be in conjunction with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requirements for plant and plant materials movement.Flowers Canada (Ontario) executive director Dean Shoemaker says in a press release by partnering with OnTrace “we will be able to identify, locate and map all of the floriculture greenhouses in Ontario as the first step in the implementation of a traceability and bio-security strategy for Ontario’s floriculture greenhouse growers.”Flowers Canada (Ontario) has served the floriculture sector for more than 40 years. It has more than 250 greenhouse floriculture members.OnTrace is the industry-led, non-profit organization leading food traceability programs and initiatives in Ontario.OnTrace CEO Brian Sterling says their role is to register the locations of all premises involved with Flowers Canada in Ontario. BF Study backs Hydro One's small generator connection limits Canadian farm groups disappointed in COOL ruling appeal
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online