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Provincial Government gets crackin’ on support for “Poultry” technicians

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6 minute read

From the Province of Alberta

New Green Certificate Program for students

The province is adding another option to Alberta’s Green Certificate Program (GCP) so students have more opportunities to learn about careers in agribusiness.

Poultry technician joins the list of programs already being offered through the GCP and funded through a partnership between Alberta Education and Agriculture and Forestry. Other courses include:

  • beekeeper production technician
  • cow-calf beef production technician
  • dairy production technician
  • equine technician
  • feedlot beef production technician
  • field crop production technician
  • greenhouse technician
  • irrigated field crop production technician
  • sheep production technician
  • swine production technician

“Our government is excited to expand this important program, as it provides real-life, hands-on learning for students who work on a farm or for students interested in the agriculture industry. The program helps students to develop the confidence, skills and knowledge they need for their future.”

David Eggen, Minister of Education
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Minister Eggen visits Ethan Meyer (16 years old), owner of Ethan’s Eggs, to announce the poultry technician option being added to Alberta’s Green Certificate Program.

The Green Certificate Program provides opportunities for students to develop the confidence, skills and knowledge they need for careers in the agricultural industry. It fosters employability skills that support the development of a skilled and educated workforce.

“This program is great for rural Alberta, our communities and our kids. It provides opportunities for youth to see training close to home and helps to develop the leaders the industry needs. Expanding this program means even more choices for students to explore career options in agriculture. We are committed to supporting families by improving growth in rural programs and the agricultural industry.”

Oneil Carlier, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry

The program was well received by the agriculture industry, but schools identified that the single largest barrier to participation in the GCP was the course fees. As a result, the province is investing up to $400,000 annually to cover the course fees for students enrolled in the program.

“As a high school student with a small business, I don’t have time to work a part-time job like my friends. It’s tough to get the same work experience credits they do, and the Green Certificate Program can help me get the credits I need to finish high school.”

Ethan Meyer, owner, Ethan’s Eggs

“We are happy to have been involved in the creation of the poultry technician program. Developing the skills and knowledge required of the poultry sector will attract and educate youth, fostering a thriving, sustainable poultry industry in Alberta.”

Jeff Kamlah, chair, Alberta Turkey Producers

“Development of the poultry technician specialization for the Green Certificate Program is important because it gives students an opportunity to get involved with the actual workings of the poultry industry. The GCP provides opportunities for students to become knowledgeable and skilled and to gain practical experience, which will make them valuable employees or farmers in the poultry sector. We look forward to having them join our industry.”

Jesse Hunter, producer services and programs, Alberta Hatching Egg Producers

“Adding poultry technician to the Green Certificate Program fills a critical gap in the program and provides an enhanced training path for our future broiler farmers and farm technicians. We recognize the incredible efforts of those driving the development of this program and were happy to have been involved in the process.”

Robert Renema, producer programs manager, Alberta Chicken Producers

“Egg Farmers of Alberta endorses the Green Certificate Program, which was designed to benefit both students and the agriculture industry. Having farmers involved in the actual curriculum development helps ensure students will be gaining relevant knowledge and learning skills that are highly applicable to the associated commodity. The inclusion of the poultry technician specialization will help increase the availability of qualified farm workers in Alberta by providing high-quality training of poultry industry best practices.”

Christina Robinson, farm programs manager, Egg Farmers of Alberta

Backgrounder

  • The GCP was developed by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry in 1975 as a way to address labour market needs for Alberta’s agriculture sector.
  • On average, more than 750 students participate in the GCP each year.
  • Like the Registered Apprenticeship Program, each of the Green Certificate specializations provides students with access to the first level of an agricultural-like apprenticeship.
  • The GCP provides students with opportunities to enter a variety of agriculture-related, structured learning pathways as a part of their senior high school program and to earn a credential leading to a career in agribusiness.
  • Students learn on the job, under the direction of experienced farm personnel and under the supervision of teachers.

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Agriculture

It’s time to end supply management

Published on

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

By Ian Madsen

Ending Canada’s dairy supply management system would lower costs, boost exports, and create greater economic opportunities.

The Trump administration’s trade warfare is not all bad. Aside from spurring overdue interprovincial trade barrier elimination and the removal of obstacles to energy corridors, it has also spotlighted Canada’s dairy supply management system.

The existing marketing board structure is a major hindrance to Canada’s efforts to increase non-U.S. trade and improve its dismal productivity growth rate—crucial to reviving stagnant living standards. Ending it would lower consumer costs, make dairy farming more dynamic, innovative and export-oriented, and create opportunities for overseas trade deals.

Politicians sold supply management to Canadians to ensure affordable milk and dairy products for consumers without costing taxpayers anything—while avoiding unsightly dumping surplus milk or sudden price spikes. While the government has not paid dairy farmers directly, consumers have paid more at the supermarket than their U.S. neighbours for decades.

An October 2023 C.D. Howe Institute analysis showed that, over five years, the Canadian price for four litres of partly skimmed milk generally exceeded the U.S. price (converted to Canadian dollars) by more than a dollar, sometimes significantly more, and rarely less.

A 2014 study conducted by the University of Manitoba, published in 2015, found that lower-income households bore an extra burden of 2.3 per cent of their income above the estimated cost for free-market-determined dairy and poultry products (i.e., vs. non-supply management), amounting to $339 in 2014 dollars ($435 in current dollars). Higher-income households paid an additional 0.5 per cent of their income, or $554 annually in 2014 dollars ($712 today).

One of the pillars of the current system is production control, enforced by production quotas for every dairy farm. These quotas only gradually rise annually, despite abundant production capacity. As a result, millions of litres of milk are dumped in some years, according to a 2022 article by the Montreal Economic Institute.

Beyond production control, minimum price enforcement further entrenches inefficiency. Prices are set based on estimated production costs rather than market forces, keeping consumer costs high and limiting competition.

Import restrictions are the final pillar. They ensure foreign producers do not undercut domestic ones. Jaime Castaneda, executive vice-president of the U.S. National Milk Producers Federation, complained that the official 2.86 per cent non-tariffed Canadian import limit was not reached due to non-tariff barriers. Canadian tariffs of over 250 per cent apply to imports exceeding quotas from the European Union, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, or USMCA).

Dairy import protection obstructs efforts to reach more trade deals. Defending this system forces Canada to extend protection to foreign partners’ favoured industries. Affected sectors include several where Canada is competitive, such as machinery and devices, chemicals and plastics, and pharmaceuticals and medical products. This impedes efforts to increase non-U.S. exports of goods and services. Diverse and growing overseas exports are essential to reducing vulnerability to hostile U.S. trade policy.

It may require paying dairy farmers several billion dollars to transition from supply management—though this cartel-determined “market” value is dubious, as the current inflation-adjusted book value is much lower—but the cost to consumers and the economy is greater. New Zealand successfully evolved from a similar import-protected dairy industry into a vast global exporter. Canada must transform to excel. The current system limits Canada’s freedom to find greener pastures.

Ian Madsen is the Senior Policy Analyst at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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Agriculture

Grain farmers warn Canadians that retaliatory tariffs against Trump, US will cause food prices to soar

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

 

One of Canada’s prominent agricultural advocacy groups warned that should the federal Liberal government impose counter-tariffs on the United States, it could make growing food more expensive and would be a nightmare for Canadian farmers and consumers.

According to Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) executive director Kyle Larkin, the cost of phosphate fertilizer, which Canada does not make, would shoot up should the Mark Carney Liberal government enact counter-tariffs to U.S. President Donald Trump’s.

Larkin said recently that there is no “domestic phosphate production here (in Canada), so we rely on imports, and the United States is our major supplier.”

“A 25% tariff on phosphate fertilizer definitely would have an impact on grain farmers,” he added.

According to Statistics Canada, from 2018 to 2023, Canada imported about 4.12 million tonnes of fertilizer from the United States. This amount included 1.46 million tonnes of monoammonium phosphates (MAP) as well as 92,027 tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP).

Also imported were 937,000 tonnes of urea, 310,158 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, and 518,232 tonnes of needed fertilizers that have both nitrogen and phosphorus.

According to Larkin, although most farmers have purchased their fertilizer for 2025, they would be in for a rough 2026 should the 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports by the U.S. still stand.

Larkin noted how Canadian farmers are already facing “sky-high input costs and increased government regulations and taxation.”

He said the potential “tariff on fertilizer is a massive concern.”

Trump has routinely cited Canada’s lack of action on drug trafficking and border security as the main reasons for his punishing tariffs.

About three weeks ago, Trump announced he was giving Mexico and Canada a 30-day reprieve on 25 percent export tariffs for goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) on free trade.

However, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, despite the reprieve from Trump, later threatened to impose a 25 percent electricity surcharge on three American states. Ford, however, quickly stopped his planned electricity surcharge after Trump threatened a sharp increase on Canadian steel and aluminum in response to his threats.

As it stands, Canada has in place a 25 percent counter tariff on some $30 billion of U.S. goods.

It is not yet clear how new Prime Minister Mark Carney will respond to Trump’s tariffs. However, he may announce something after he calls the next election, which he is expected to do March 23.

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