NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

NFU Bulletin
Wednesday, June 9, 2021

In this Issue:

Summer Webinar Series: Food Justice
Gene Editing & Agroecology – Reframing the Debate on Food System Transition
Help Your Workers Stay Safe During COVID-19
Assurez la sécurité de vos travailleurs durant la pandémie de COVID-19
Les agriculteurs jouent un rôle de premier plan dans l’élaboration de politiques de réduction des émissions
The climate benefits of Canada’s dairy supply management program
Mourning the 215 Children Found in Unmarked Graves at Residential School Site, We Commit to Decolonization
NFU Submission on Bill C-216 Supply Management
NFU urges MPs to safeguard supply management by passing Bill C-216
Solidarity With Palestine, Now!
Canary Seed will soon become an official grain
La graine à canaris deviendra bientôt un grain officiel


UPCOMING SESSIONS




Summer Webinar Series: Food Justice

On Wednesday, June 16, 2021, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM EST, join Dr. Sarah Wakefield and the University of Toronto School of the Environment in the second installment of its annual Summer Webinar Series! Considering the isolating nature of the pandemic, the School of the Environment is collaborating with the Environmental Students' Union to give students and the broader environmental community the opportunity to learn, connect, and share with one another.

In this webinar, Dr. Sarah Wakefield, a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto, will draw upon her twenty years of research on food systems to discuss the evolution of food activism in Canada. In the first half of the webinar, Dr. Wakefield will examine the role of activist organizations in challenging the exploitative relationships that remain prevalent in our food system, and the shift towards food justice and food sovereignty activism. In the second half of the webinar, Dr. Wakefield and the audience will explore food activism in Canada and highlight various actions that may support the creation of sustainable and just food systems while challenging existing power structures.

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Click here to Register!




Gene Editing & Agroecology – Reframing the Debate on Food System Transition

Mon, June 14, 2021 | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM BST

Looked at through the lens of the current industrial farming paradigm, gene editing makes sense as a ‘tool in the toolbox’. But farming urgently needs to change and it is widely agreed that agroecology is the paradigm we need to adopt. So what does gene editing – and other high tech options – look like when assessed within an agroecological framework?

This session examines how genome editing looks when viewed through the lens of 10 principles of agroecology. An expert panel will explore the pace of development in genome editing – and related technologies, the force of the “tool in the toolbox ‘ narrative, whether it is a help or a hindrance to an agroecological transition, and how it affects farmers, policy and the perception of where farming goes next.

Panel
Maywa Montenegro, Assistant professor in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Jim Thomas, Co-Executive Director and Researcher with the ETC Group.
Chantal Clement, Deputy Director of IPES-Food.
Francesco Ajena, Independent consultant on sustainable and resilient food systems.
Chris Smaje, British farmer and author of Small Farm Future.
Nettie Wiebe, Organic farmer and professor of ethics at St. Andrew’s College, University of Saskatchewan.

Chair
Pat Thomas, Director, Beyond GM/A Bigger Conversation

Conversational format will include an audience Q&A session.

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Click here to Book Free Tickets!









Help Your Workers Stay Safe During COVID-19

Free Online Course for Temporary Foreign Workers

To keep your agricultural operation safe and productive, you need to protect your workers from COVID-19. This free online course helps temporary foreign workers learn about how COVID-19 spreads, how to protect themselves, and what to do if they become sick. Assign this course to multiple people and track its completion. Available in English, French, and Spanish.

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Click here to Register!




More COVID-19 Resources for Temporary Foreign Workers

Access videos, infographics, and other resources to help protect your workers from COVID-19.

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Access Resources









Assurez la sécurité de vos travailleurs durant la pandémie de COVID-19

Cours en ligne gratuit pour les travailleurs étrangers temporaires

Pour que votre exploitation agricole demeure sûre et productive, vous devez protéger vos travailleurs contre la COVID 19. Ce cours en ligne gratuit montre aux travailleurs étrangers temporaires comment la COVID-19 se propage, quels moyens prendre pour se protéger et quoi faire s’ils tombent malades. Inscrivez plusieurs personnes à ce cours et suivez les taux d’achèvement. Disponible en anglais, en français et en espagnol.

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Inscription au cours



Ressources supplémentaires sur la COVID-19 pour les travailleurs étrangers temporaires


Accédez des vidéos, des infographies et d’autres ressources pour aider à protéger vos travailleurs contre la COVID-19.

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Les agriculteurs jouent un rôle de premier plan dans l’élaboration de politiques de réduction des émissions

Le Canada s’est engagé à réduire ses émissions de gaz à effet de serre de 40% d’ici 2030 et à atteindre la carboneutralité d’ici 2050. De grands changements sont à venir, pour tous les secteurs, et les organisations et coalitions agricoles proposent des solutions.

Les émissions agricoles proviennent de trois sources principales : les engrais azotés, les carburants et le bétail. De nombreux agriculteurs veulent réduire les émissions découlant de ces trois sources, mais nous avons besoin que les gouvernements s’associent à nous pour soutenir et accélérer nos transitions, et ce, de manière à améliorer les revenus agricoles nets. Lors de réunions avec le ministre de l’Agriculture du Canada et autres décideurs, l’Union nationale des fermiers (UNF) a mis en exergue plusieurs programmes nécessaires.

Cliquez ici pour lire la suite



The climate benefits of Canada’s dairy supply management program

Darrin Qualman at the Canadian National Farmers Union noted that the smaller dairy herds can be grazed on grasslands, helping to sequester carbon and minimize emissions. Destroying or displacing smaller, dispersed grazing herds of dairy cattle and replacing them with production from huge, centralized, non-grazing herds is a net loss for soil health, carbon sequestration, sustainability and the climate.

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Click here to read the Article!





Mourning the 215 Children Found in Unmarked Graves at Residential School Site, We Commit to Decolonization

In particular, we strongly support the calls for an Indigenous-led, government funded inquiry into the undocumented deaths and burials on sites of residential schools, in line with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 71-76. We also support calls for the federal government to fund care centres and other forms of support for residential school survivors and their families.

We recognize that this is an especially important time for us to listen and centre the voices of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. This is a time for us to deepen our understanding of Indigenous dispossession, and reflect on the paradigms of land ownership and commodification that undermine Indigenous food sovereignty, governance, and kinship systems. The actions we take on a daily basis can make a difference, and we need to hold governments, those around us, and ourselves to account for perpetuating systemic racism and injustice.

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Click here to read the Statement!









NFU Submission on Bill C-216 Supply Management

This week the NFU asked House of Commons Committee on International Trade to support Bill C-216. This Private Members Bill would make it illegal for any future trade deals to provide more foreign access to Canada's supply-managed markets.

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Read the full Submission!



NFU urges MPs to safeguard supply management 

by passing Bill C-216

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is urging Members of Parliament to support Bill C-216, which would make it illegal for any future trade agreement to provide more foreign access to Canada’s supply-managed markets.

The supply management system stands upon three pillars: production discipline, which ensures farmers produce no more or less than the market needs; cost-of-production pricing, which ensures that farmers receive a fair income; and import control, which prevents over-supply. Bill C-216 ensures that the third pillar will remain in place.

“The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Europe (CETA), the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUMSA), show us why we need Bill C-216,” said Katie Ward, NFU President. “Each took a significant portion of Canada’s supply managed market away from Canadian family farmers.”

Now, Canada is negotiating trade agreements with the United Kingdom and with the Mercosur countries — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela – in South America.
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Click here to read the Press Release!








Solidarity With Palestine, Now!

In April 2021, Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed what the people of the world have been denouncing for years: “The Israeli authorities are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution.” According to the new HRW Report, “The severity of the repression in the occupied territory, including the imposition of a draconian military regime on the Palestinians while Jewish Israelis living in a segregated way in the same territory enjoy all their rights, which Israeli Civil Law respects as rights, amounts to a systematic oppression necessary for the existence of apartheid”.

This May 15th was the 73rd anniversary of the Nakba or “catastrophe” that occurred in 1948 with the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and lands to create the State of Israel. Although the agreement sanctioned by the United Nations was that they would only occupy 55 percent of the Palestinian territory, in violation of international law they occupied most of Palestine through violence and repression. In the context of Nakba 2021, known as “the day of pain” by the Palestinian people, the Criminal State of Israel intensified its occupationist plans and displacement of the Palestinians with a series of violent attacks that have resulted in the vile murder of more than 250 Palestinians – the majority being children, women and seniors. In response, La Via Campesina issued a new Declaration of Solidarity telling the world, once again: Palestinian Rights are Human Rights too! 

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Click here to Read the Statement!



Canary Seed will soon become an official grain

News release

June 9, 2021 Winnipeg Canadian Grain Commission

The Canadian Grain Commission has released a new online tool to help producers quickly and accurately determine the volume and test weight of their grain.

The test weight calculators for Canadian grains , which are available for free on the Canadian Grain Commission's website, will make it easier for producers to calculate the test weight of their grain in 3 commonly used units of measurement:
kilogram per hectolitre (kg / hL)
pounds per Avery bushel (lb / bu-A)
pounds per Winchester bushel (lb / bu-W)

The tool also includes calculators to help producers convert tons to bushels and determine the volume of grain in bins, piles, and containers.

With this information, producers will be better equipped to make business decisions for their farm. For example, accurate volume estimates are critical for producers, especially when reporting for crop insurance. The tool will also help producers determine Winchester bushel weights when they are delivering against a US contract. Test weights are also important when calculating how many trips can be made hauling grain to elevators and storage facilities.

Quote

"As a producer, I understand how important it is to have accurate data about my crop. These calculators are an easy way to get accurate conversion results and give farmers another tool to use in managing their operation."

Doug chorney

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