Norwich couple win egg quota competition Wednesday, November 16, 2011 by BETTER FARMING STAFFMichael and Gwen Van Gurp of Norwich are the first recipients of the New Entrant Quota Loan Pool (NEQLP) program. Their selection was announced Tuesday at Egg Farmers of Ontario's (EFO) Annual Councilors' Workshop.Picked by a selection committee from among 84 applicants, the Van Gurps will be loaned two units of quota, up to 5,000 units, for every unit they buy. After 10 years, the loaned quota will be returned to the NEQLP program in five installments of 20 per cent each year over five years.To be considered for EFO's new entrant program, an applicant must be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant and be a permanent resident of Ontario. Applicants cannot hold quota of any type in the supply-managed sector (egg, pullet, chicken, turkey, dairy, or hatching eggs) and not have held quota, currently or in the past, of any type in the supply-managed sector. Priority is given to persons between the ages of 18 and 45.The program was announced in March at the annual meeting of the EFO. The EFO will allocate 50,000 units of egg quota over a 10-year period into the program and, each year, up to 5,000 units of egg quota will be loaned. EFO general manager Harry Pelissero said the program is designed to be self-perpetuating and is expected to continue indefinitely. When loaned quota is returned to the program, it will go out to new recipients. At today’s prices, each unit of quota is worth between $230 and $240. BF Greenbelt poll questioned Farmland prices are on a roll
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