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Ag update: March
March 27, 2025 By Potatoes in Canada
Grants and funding
Ontario Agricultural College receives $4M for Climate-Smart Soils chair
The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), part of the University of Guelph, has received a $4 million investment to establish the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair in Climate-Smart Soils. The investment is comprised of a $2 million give from the Jarislowsky Foundation and a matching gift from the university itself. The new endowed chair will focus on conducting research to improve soil care, mitigate the impacts of climate change and enhance food security, the university reported in a press statement. By addressing greenhouse gas mitigation, promoting climate-smart agricultural practices and equipping future researchers, the chair will drive meaningful progress in soil care and sustainable farming. The search for the inaugural chair will commence shortly.
$1M for ag safety
Earlier this month, the Government of Canada committed funding up to $1,607,291 over three years to the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) through the AgriCompetitiveness Program, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This funding will support a range of initiatives, including developing safety education resources for children and promoting a new child and youth agricultural safety week, as well as promoting physical safety and mental health initiatives that address the unique stresses of farm life. This funding will enable CASA to continue to offer programs like its annual Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, which runs every year from March 16 to 22.
International and trade issues
Feds, P.E.I. redirect funds to support island farmers
The government of Canada and the Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) Department of Agriculture are redirecting funds into existing programs that support farmers and agri-businesses in finding new markets and foster innovation. Through existing Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) programming, the federal and provincial governments are redirecting cost-shared funding into: the Product and Market Development Program; the Strategic Industry Growth Initiative and the Business Development Program. In addition to the increased investments, the P.E.I. Department of Agriculture will be working in collaboration with the P.E.I. Department of Economic Development, Innovation and Trade to further support agricultural initiatives applying to trade and new market programs offered through Innovation P.E.I.
Producer pulse
CFA applauds removal of consumer carbon tax
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has released a statement in support of new prime minister Mark Carney’s removal of the consumer carbon price. “Farmers are being squeezed from seemingly all sides at once with inflation and tariffs from both the US and China. The long-awaited removal of the carbon tax will provide farmers a bit of relief from this pressure and can be seen as recognition for the difficult place Canadian farmers and consumers find themselves in today,” said Keith Currie, CFA president, in a media statement. Based on estimates in 2023 from the Parliamentary Budget Office, farmers would save over $100 million a year with the removal of the consumer carbon tax. “The signing of this order-in-council is a reassuring step in the right direction, but we need to see Parliament reconvene and provide a long-term solution that removes the consumer carbon price from legislation and ensures farms of all sizes are exempt from the carbon price. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government of Canada to ensure future environmental policies enable long-term sustainable productivity growth and the competitiveness of Canadian agriculture,” added Currie in a press release.
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