RETIRING MARGINALLY PROFITABLE SECTIONS OF AGRICULTURAL FIELDS IN ONTARIO ECONOMICALLY JUSTIFIED: CASE STUDIES OF TYPICAL FIELDS IN ONTARIO, FINAL REPORT

The dairy industry in Canada was turned on its ear by the release of the WTO decision last fall that Canada's Special Milk Classes constitute an export subsidy. Dairy processors fear the loss of established export markets. At the same time, the decision threatens the role of supply management authorities as the sole marketers of farmers' milk. Will farmers market milk for export directly to processors? What consequences could renewed marketing board involvement in exports have in the international trade arena? The industry is preparing for conflict as it reorients itself in the international market. That conflict is embedded in proposals made by some of the milk marketing agencies and by some processor members of the National Dairy Council (NDCC). Because of the immediate importance of this case and the issues it spawns, the George Morris Centre is releasing this special report. It addresses the following topics: The nature of the challenges to the Special Milk Classes scheme The WTO decision Implications for the dairy industry Marketing board's proposal for export pricing reform NDCC proposal for export pricing reform Evaluation of the alternativesInternational Relations/Trade,

WHAT THE ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONER REALLY SAID: THE AUDIT OF THE FEDERAL PEST MANAGEMENT REGULATORY AGENCY

Environmental Economics and Policy,

WHAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER SAID: THE FEDERAL REPORT CARD ON AGRICULTURE IN ONTARIO AND QUEBEC

On October 2nd, 2001 the federal environment commissioner released her annual report. In it, she offered an assessment of the environmental impact of agriculture in the Great Lakes basin and the federal government's role. Specifically, the environment commissioner addressed: * Manure and fertilizer management * Soil erosion * Environmental impact of farm programs * Federal role in sustainable agriculture. Based on environmental audits and other analyses, the commissioner presented the following conclusions: * There is a problem with the accumulation of soil nutrients as a result of manure and chemical fertilizer applications in the Great Lakes basin * Soil erosion is a continuing problem that is not receiving adequate attention or data collection * Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) has not adequately taken account of the environmental impact of farm programs, and farm programs can have impacts that conflict with AAFC's stated environmental goals * AAFC has not appropriately targeted funding for the environment by region, and there is a greater need for cross-compliance in farm programs * Certain agricultural practices are unsustainable, and the framework to alter unsustainable farming practices is lacking. But are these conclusions warranted, given the mix of belief and credible evidence that typically permeates discussions of agriculture and the environment? In this special report, we provide a brief analysis of the Environment Commissioner's report as it relates to livestock and sustainability. Specifically, we clarify a misconception in the Commissioner's comparison between livestock waste and human waste, and discuss the sustainability of crop nutrients (loadings and uptake) in Ontario and Quebec as they relate to manure loadings and fertilizer use.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Environmental and Economic Impact Assessments of Environmental Regulations for the Agriculture Sector: A Case Study of Hog Farming

A multi-year research study was established under the environmental pillar of the Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) to evaluate the role and impact of existing farm level environmental regulations administered by local, provincial, federal governments. The Phase 1 study entitled "Inventory and Methodology for Assessing the Impacts of Environmental Regulations in the Agricultural Sector" was released in March 2006 on AAFC online. There is a growing concern about the impact and effectiveness of environmental regulations, specifically impact on the competitiveness of primary agriculture. Empirical analysis is required to better understand the exact role that agri-environmental regulations play in determining a farm's cost structure and to compare difference between provinces within Canada. With this purpose in mind, in Phase 2, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), has commissioned hog case study to increase the policy makers' and industry's understanding of the impact and role of environmental regulations in the farming sector. The study estimated the compliance costs of existing agri-environmental regulations for a newly established -600 sow farrow to finish-hog facility in 2006. It was also assumed that the facility would follow good farming practices (i.e. sufficient land available to absorb the manure from the operation). The results show that environmental regulation compliance costs were generally less than 1% of total annual production cost.Environmental regulations, hog operation/farming, compliance cost, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics,

THE COMPETITIVENESS IMPACTS OF CANADA'S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT REVIEW REGULATIONS; FINAL REPORT

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Silage additive update: 1984

Numerous commercial silage additives, whose manufacturers claim will improve silage quality, are available to Kansas farmers and ranchers. We believe that these claims must ultimately be documented with farm-scale research. To date, Manhattan and Ft. Hays farm-scale silo results clearly indicate that a few silage additives do improve silage quality and are cost-effective. Several of them have consistently reduced in silo losses. But results probably will not be favorable with all additives under every farm condition. Nor will research results obtained with one commercial product in our trials also apply to other products on the market, however similar in ingredient formulation

RETURNS TO SORTING AND MARKET TIMING OF ANIMALS WITHIN PENS OF FED CATTLE

This research examines returns to cattle feeding operations that sort animals prior to marketing using ultrasound technology. The returns to sorting are between $11 and$25 per head depending on the number of groups the pens into which cattle can be sorted. Sorting faces declining returns. These returns can also be viewed as the costs imposed by institutional constraints that limit co-mingling of cattle. Through sorting, cattle feeding operations are able to reduce meat quality discounts, increase meat quality premiums, increase beef carcass quality characteristics, more efficiently use feed resources, and increase profits.Livestock Production/Industries,

Production Inefficiency in Fed Cattle Marketing and the Value of Sorting Pens into Alternative Marketing Groups Using Ultrasound Technology

The cattle industry batch markets animals in pens. Because of this, animals within any one pen can be both underfed and overfed. Thus, there is a production inefficiency associated with batch marketing. We simulate the value of sorting animals through weight and ultrasound measurements from original pens into smaller alternative marketing groups. Sorting exploits the production inefficiency and enables cattle feeding enterprises to avoid meat quality discounts, capture premiums, more efficiently use feed resources, and increase returns. The value of sorting is between $15 and$25 per head, with declining marginal returns as the number of sort groups increases.cattle feeding, production efficiency, simulation, sorting, value-based marketing, ultrasound, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, C15, D21, D23, Q12,

Studies of the Effects of High Levels of Neutral Fats in Ruminant Rations

Animal Husbandr