Policy Areas

Union Farmer Newsletter: September 2023

In this issue: “Let them eat concrete” Ontario’s farmers are fed up with the Greenbelt giveaways Farmers unite to defeat Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) unfair change to grading standards NFU Read more

Lee Kyung Hae’s dramatic suicide still an inspiration for global action

On the International Day of Action Against the WTO and Free Trade Agreements, NFU calls for fair and just international trade systems September 10th 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Read more

Saskatchewan can achieve net-zero electricity by 2035

The world is beginning to recognize the benefits of decarbonizing. We must stop burning fossil fuels to prevent dangerous climate change, but there are also many benefits from the necessary Read more

Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada: Third Edition

The most detailed report of its kind, Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada: A Comprehensive Analysis (3rd Edition) subdivides Canadian agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and soil-carbon changes into 42 Read more

Agricultural GHG Emissions, A Comprehensive Analysis: New NFU report

SASKATOON, SK—The National Farmers Union (NFU) today released the Third Edition of its report: Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada: A Comprehensive Assessment. The most detailed report of its kind, Read more

NFU asks Canada not to join US-Mexico GM corn dispute panel

The National Farmers Union (NFU) urges Trade Minister Ng to respect Mexico’s decision to prohibit imports of GM corn for human consumption, as it has put these measures in place in order to uphold its food sovereignty, including the traditional Indigenous farming systems known as milpa. We urge you to refrain from having Canada join the Panel as a Third Party in the US dispute with Mexico in order to avoid escalating our role in this dispute out of respect for Indigenous rights, Canada being signatory to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to support Canada’s biodiversity protection commitments as a signatory of the UN Convention on Biodiversity. Read more

18 Reasons Why Agricultural Soil Carbon Offsets are the Wrong Approach to the Climate Crisis, and What We Should Do Instead

In this bold and blunt 17-page report the National Farmers Union (NFU) in 18 concise points, we expose the false solutions— that offset protocols, offset projects, and emissions trading are ineffectual, illegitimate, and damaging. The NFU urges the Canadian government to shelve plans for soil-based offset protocols. With sound research, the NFU provides the clear reasoning as to why offsets are ineffective. This then informs the ten policy recommendations that could address the climate crisis while simultaneously providing real, meaningful change for farms and farmers.  Read more

NFU and Wheat Growers call on Minister MacAulay to halt CGC move to impose export grading standards on country elevator deliveries

Today, the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Wheat Growers Association (WGA) sent a joint letter to federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay asking him to halt the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) decision to impose export grade standards on wheat delivered to country elevators. The new rule will have a massive and long-term negative impact on prairie wheat farmers incomes. Calling this a heavy-handed move, both organizations demand the change be stopped, at least until the full impacts on all stakeholders are presented to the CGC’s Western Standards Committee. The NFU and WGA disagree on many policy matters but are united in their opposition to the decision to harmonize of primary and export standards for wheat. Read more

Joint NFU, WGA letter re CGC changes to Canadian grain grading

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Wheat Growers Association (WGA) disagree on many policy matters but we are united in our opposition to the harmonization of primary and export standards for wheat until further clarifying evidence of the impact on farmers and customers of Canadian grain is done, as was moved and passed by the CGC’s Western Standards Committee at their April 4 meeting. The impending CGC grade standard change has costly implications for farmers’ incomes. For example, harmonized test weight means that CWRS wheat (hard red spring wheat used for baking bread) must weigh at least 63.3 lbs/bushel when delivered to the elevator instead of the current standard of 60.1 lbs/bushel or it will be downgraded to a #2. Read more

To the editor—Enough is enough. It’s time to ditch fossil fuels in order to save ourselves

To the editor, Twenty-five years ago, when I started writing for the National Farmers Union about the harmful effects of putting more CO2 into the air, I didn’t think global Read more