Action committee revamps administration Thursday, November 27, 2008 by BETTER FARMING STAFF Elbert van Donkersgoed has left the position of executive director of the Greater Toronto Agricultural Action Committee as of early November. “We came to a mutual agreement, says Peter Lambrick, Campbellville, chairman of the action committee. “Elbert has done well at raising our profile and the committee has decided to maybe go in a more active direction,” Lambrick said Thursday. “We had a meeting last night.” Made up of representatives of local federations of agriculture and municipalities, the action committee promotes agriculture in the Greater Toronto Area. Van Donkersgoed joined the action committee 2.5 years ago after a long stint at the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, most recently as strategic policy advisor. Lambrick says the action committee hopes to have a replacement working soon, with a new job description and a new title: plan coordinator. “We need to be pulling coalitions together and to get more positive results back to the farmers.” Van Donkersgoed was not immediately available for comment. BF Behind the Lines: December 2008 Agricorp makes changes
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