Farm Workers

Time for Western Premiers to “Do The Right Thing” Regarding Agristability

Swift Current, SK—The National Farmers Union (NFU) is urging the western conservative premiers in Saskatchewan and Alberta to put aside the political posturing and “do the right thing” in order to get crucially needed aid to drought-stricken farmers. The NFU is urging the premiers to accept federal offers to increase coverage within the AgriStability program Read more

Manitoba Cattle Farmers Face Rising Costs from Drought & Government

Brandon, MB—Manitoba cattle farmers are facing higher costs and may soon see falling prices.  Farmers may be on the eve of a severe cost-price squeeze. The NFU today sent a letter to the Manitoba Minister of Agriculture detailing the problem and outlining some solutions. The drought is driving up feed grain and hay prices and Read more

Canadian Farms Hammered by Heat and Drought; Climate Change Will Make Such Events More Frequent and Damaging

Le français suit Saskatoon, SK—Across BC, the Prairies, and western Ontario, intense heat and lack of rain are withering crops, pastures, livestock feed, orchards, and vegetable fields and drying up water supplies.  The results are devastating.  More than three-quarters of Canadian farmland has been impacted by drought. Arzeena Hamir and her husband farm in the Read more

Farmers Can’t Do it Alone. What we need to fight the climate crisis. 

In inspiring numbers, young farmers are taking to the land to act on climate – but we know that our individual zeal, commitment, and fighting spirit will not be enough to achieve the drastic reduction in on-farm emissions that we so desperately need. “I can make my own individual actions but what we really need Read more

From the Frontlines: Notes from young farmers in the face of the climate crisis

The climate crisis is the greatest threat facing agriculture today.  As farmers, our livelihood is the land, and that puts us on the frontlines of the climate crisis.  As young farmers in particular, we are grappling with the onset of the climate crisis as a warning sign of what will come to define our lives.  Read more

Why I Farm: Reflections on my absurd career choice 

By Laura Fash I never thought I would be a farmer. A lifelong urbanite, my closest encounters with agriculture were my grandpa’s stories about growing up on a dairy farm and blasting by backroad acreage on my dad’s motorcycle. I had zero interest in rural life and couldn’t keep a cactus alive, let alone crops.  Read more

Op Ed: Farmers’ Mental Health has Economic Roots

Charlottetown, PEI The Island Minister of Agriculture, Bloyce Thompson said this past week that more Island Farmers are reaching out for mental health support through the PEI Farmers Assistance Program.  He noted that the number of calls in 2019 was 140, increasing to 293 in 2020. Minister Thompson said navigating a hot dry summer during Read more

National Farmers Union congratulates Beef Farmers of Ontario

January 22, 2021 To: Beef Farmers of Ontario via email: info@ontariobeef.com When the Beef Farmers of Ontario recently passed their policy calling for more diversity, equity, and inclusion in agriculture, they took a great step forward and set a great example for other commodity organizations in Ontario and across the country. “The NFU would like Read more

Union Farmer Quarterly: Summer 2020

In this issue … Messages from the Editorial Committee, NFU President Katie Ward (bilingual), Women’s President Coral Sproule and Regional Reports Articles: Catching up with Martha Robbins, new (returning) International Program Coordinator and Darrin Qualman who joins NFU to work on climate change and ag NFU National and Regional Conventions amid COVID-19 (bilingual) The NFU’s work during COVID-19 Read more

NFU-O Statement on the Deaths of Two Migrant Farm Workers

We stand in solidarity with the Migrant Rights Network and Justicia for Migrant Workers in their outrage over the death of Bonifacio Eugenio Romero and their efforts to improve migrant workers’ housing, working, and status conditions. Read more