Sidebar 6: Carolynne Griffith, 66, Lambton County Monday, May 4, 2009 Griffith, who has one son and one daughter, established a laying hen and cash crop operation with her late husband, Arthur, in the 1960s. Today, the family has 23,000 laying hens on the home farm, 25,000 broilers on her son John's farm and 2,000 acres of wheat, corn and soybeans. Greatest success. Becoming chair of Egg Farmers of Ontario. "It gave me an opportunity to give back to the egg industry and the organization for all the great things we were able to accomplish in my lifetime." She says she's also "humbled and honoured" to be chair of FarmGate5, a provincial coalition promoting supply management.Greatest challenge. On the farm, childcare is a "huge" challenge. In her political roles, it's World Trade Organization negotiations and working to maintain "a domestic food system that works."Words of advice. "If your sights aren't set too high financially, you'll have a great life." Beef: Alberta moves to bring in voluntary price insurance program Sidebar 5: Laura Kivits, 32, Dalkeith (Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry)
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