Grain Commission Plans To Cut User Fees

Apr 25, 2017

The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is proposing to reduce its user fees as of August 1, 2017, in response to a $100 million surplus that has been accumulated over the years.

The benefit to affected stakeholders of the proposed fee reduction is $9.99 million for the 2017–2018 fiscal year, a cost decrease of 15 per cent. The benefit is expected to be around $15 million thereafter. The accelerated reduction is ahead of the original schedule of new user fees which would have started April 1, 2018.

Grain Growers of Canada President Jeff Nielsen said the move is in line with the group's recent calls to Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and the Commission to prevent the further accumulation of the surplus.

Source : Portageonline

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.