Minister Bibeau highlights Budget 2023 investments to strengthen food security

Apr 14, 2023

Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and Sophie Chatel, Member of Parliament for Pontiac, visited Le Grenier des Collines food bank facility in Val-des-Monts, Quebec, where they highlighted Budget 2023 investments that will strengthen food security in local communities and make life more affordable while building a healthy future. Budget 2023 proposes to provide $10 million in 2023-24 to top up the Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) to strengthen food security in communities across Canada. This new phase of the LFIF will be launched shortly.

Minister Bibeau and MP Chatel also met with agriculture and food security stakeholders during a roundtable in Gracefield. Minister Bibeau also went to Brownsburg-Chatham, accompanied by Stéphane Lauzon, MP for Argenteuil – La Petite-Nation, to visit the Argenteuil MRC community agriculture project.

The LFIF is a $70-million federal government initiative that supports not-for-profit organizations and community-led efforts in strengthening local food systems to improve food security. Since it first launched in August 2019, the LFIF has committed $55.4 million to support over 897 vital food security projects across Canada. Of this total, 188 projects were in Indigenous communities, including community gardens and kitchens, refrigerated trucks and storage units for donated food and greenhouses.

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Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.