Projected 41% budget cut at Agriculture Canada...Is this really being discussed? What are they thinking?

I just saw the story in the Globe and Mail that discusses that the Federal Government is thinking of cutting Agriculture Canada a whopping 41%.

Here is the link to the story

They really can't be thinking of doing this? Is Agriculture such a low priority that they think this won't hurt rural Canada?

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Frank Borszcz on April 6, 2010 at 2:25am

Our Gov't seems to be more concerned about sending relief to places like Haiti and Africa while forgetting about its own people here in Canada. If anything the Feds need to increse funding by 41% to Agriculture Canada. This is the same old story, rural Canada is always abused and taken for granted. When will this stop? Perhaps it will take a world food shortage for the importance of Agriculture in Canada to sink in. Ask a politician if he likes to eat. If he answers yes which he will, then perhaps he needs to THINK about where this food comes from. Very disappointing.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Joann on April 6, 2010 at 4:41am

Truth of the matter is agriculture funding, and distribution of such funds, has been a topic of discussion for a number of years now. If budgeted monies are not flowing to farmers now, does a 41% cut really mean anything in true financial terms? Who is receiving federal monies and where are the budgeted funds flowing to? Why did the government not pursue the Auditors' CAIS report with a thorough investigation when wrong-doing was exposed?

Our Provincial minister returned $82M of farm budgeted monies as farmers were not utilizing the funds.

Remember last fall $1B of federal ag. money was not utilized either. A news article stated $1B was cut from the budget. A member on this site corresponded with MP Joe Preston and getting the response:

Thank you for the email.

First of all, this was not an announcement. This was comments made by the Liberal Critic for agriculture.

Programs have not been cut but instead usage of the BRM payments decreased last year. 3.2 billion Was budgeted for last year with only 2.6 billion being used.

Payments under AgriRecovery were done due to the decrease in natural disasters. Regarding livestock, 1.2 billion over the past couple of years have been paid out with $711 million in advance payments for the 09-09 year and the first half o the 09-10 year.

I appreciate your concerns but the information that you have received is inaccurate.

In reality, the agriculture budget has been slashed long ago..... the government is just publicly acknowledging it now and not playing the sleight of hand shell game............or shall we say Joe Prestidigitation????

▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Welcome to
Ontario Agriculture

Sign Up
or Sign In

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Secretary Rollins Takes Decisive Action and Shuts Down U.S. Southern Border Ports to Livestock Trade due to further Northward Spread of New World Screwworm in Mexico

Yesterday, Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality (SENASICA) reported a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz in Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid, on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. This new northward detection comes approximately two months after northern detections were reported in Oaxaca and Veracruz, less than 700 miles away from the U.S. border, which triggered the closure of our ports to Mexican cattle, bison, and horses on May 11, 2025. While USDA announced a risk-based phased port re-opening strategy for cattle, bison, and equine from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025, this newly reported NWS case raises significant concern about the previously reported information shared by Mexican officials and severely compromises the outlined port reopening schedule of five ports from July 7-September 15. There

University of Manitoba appoints Dr. Filiz Koksel as Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein

The University of Manitoba is pleased to welcome Dr. Filiz Koksel as the new Manitoba Strategic Research Chair in Sustainable Protein, a role that continues to advance sustainable agri-food innovation and leadership in plant and animal protein research and innovation. Dr. Koksel, an associate professor in the Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, leads an interdisciplinary research program that aligns closely with Manitoba’s Protein Advantage Strategy. She holds BSc and MSc degrees in Food Engineering and earned her PhD in Food Science from the University of Manitoba. “My vision for this Chair is to position Manitoba as a global leader in sustainable protein innovation by uniting scientific discovery with industry partnerships,” said Dr. Koksel. “Together, we will create solutions that advance food security and climate resilience for generations to come.” Dr Koksel’s current work focuses on developing novel, environmentally friendly protein ingredients from crops such

Support staff recognized for contributions to Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences

Each year the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences calls for nominations of a support staff member or team who have made outstanding contributions in support of the teaching, research, service and outreach goals of the Faculty. At a celebratory barbecue to celebrate all nominees held on July 9, six individuals and four teams were recognized for their service to the Faculty. Sheldon Beichter, Technician, Carman Research Station Becky Dueck, Technician, Department of Plant Science Atanas Karamanov, Technician, Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research Minami Maeda, Technician, Department of Biosystems Engineering Finley Makila, Technician, Richardson Centre for Food Technology and Research Donna Ryland, Technician, Department of Food and Human Nutritional Sciences Charlene Hawryluk, Wajiha Shahzad, Uldis Bourne, Jennifer St. Laurent, Dianne Dugald and Vanessa Ryplanski, Departments of Animal Science & Entomology and Glenlea Research Station Minami Maeda, Daniel Benedet an

Some crops look good and other not so good in Saskatchewan

A drive around Saskatchewan provides a wide range of crop conditions, based on rainfall received. Timely thunderstorms, combined with spring rain, are producing decent-looking crops in some locations, particularly the southeast. The poorest crops are in the southwest, but there are areas across the northern grainbelt that are much drier than normal as well. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly crop report puts provincial cropland topsoil moisture conditions at 55 percent adequate, 33 percent short and 12 percent very short. Many fields are at relatively uniform stages, but there is some inconsistent staging which is making spray timing challenging. Areas that have received moderate to high rainfall over the last few weeks are applying fungicides to some of their pulse, cereal and oilseed crops.

AGRI-FOOD 2050 Industry Event

The Agricultural Adaptation Council (AAC) is bringing industry leaders together to envision the future of agri-food in Ontario. The inaugural Agri-food 2050 Event will draw attendees from across the broader agri-food sector including representatives from primary agriculture, agri-business, food processing, agri-food research, and government.

More…

Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service