By Becky Zimmer

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday August 12, 2021

Aug 12, 2021 | 10:00 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — Farmers on the prairies are facing a dire hay shortage due to devastating and prolonged drought conditions.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has begun work on an initiative to send surplus hay from farmers in eastern Canada to those struggling in the west.

CFA President Mary Robinson said the “Hay West” initiative started in 2002 when prairie farmers were facing similar circumstances. Ten years later the situation was reversed, where western farmers sent hay east to help farms stricken with drought.

“We believe this initiative will help ease some of the stress that western farmers are dealing with,” Robinson said in a news release. “We have our staff, as well as a third-party, working towards determining how much surplus hay is available and are looking to work with the railways and the government to help these farmers that are in dire need of feed for their animals.”

CFA will provide more information on the initiative as details become available.

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The federal government is putting a pause on proposed increases to maximum residue limits (MRLs), including for glyphosate. As a result, there will be no increases to MRLs until at least spring 2022.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said while the current regulations provide protection of human health and the environment, some of its provisions now warrant review.

“We will review the framework underlying the review process of the PMRA and strengthen its capacity to conduct those reviews,” Bibeau said in a news release.

The federal government will begin consulting on specific provisions of the Pest Control Products Act (2002) to consider ways to balance how the pesticide review processes are initiated in Canada.

Pesticides are an important tool for the agricultural sector. Prior to approval for sale in Canada, all pesticides must undergo a science-based review by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and meet strict standards for health, safety, and environmental protection.

The federal government also announced funding of $50 million to PMRA and AAFC’s pest management research including improving the availability of independent data to support pesticide review decisions and the transparency of decision-making.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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