Agriculture Canada Research Articles

Labor shortages and immigration: The case of the Canadian agriculture sector

AbstractReliable access to labor is an ongoing key concern for many employers, in particular for those in regions. As an attempt to help mitigate the effects of labor shortages, immigration has been deployed as a key strategy, but most immigrants are concentrated in large cities. A sector that represents an interesting case in point is the food production sector, which includes primary agriculture and food processing. We use a rich longitudinal micro‐database for the years 2001–2013 from the Canadian Employer‐Employee Dynamic Database to identify the factors that have an impact on the recruitment and retention of Canadian‐born and immigrant workers in the primary agriculture and food processing sectors. In particular, in response to the efforts to explore permanent residence pathways, whether or not immigrants with previous Canadian experience are more likely to stay in the sectors after entering remains a key question for policymakers that we investigate [EconLit Citations: J15, J18, J21, J63, Q10, Q12].

AAC Brown 18 brown mustard

AAC Brown 18 is the first brown mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] hybrid variety developed using an improved Ogura cytoplasmic male sterility hybrid system at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada — Saskatoon Research and Development Centre (AAFC-SRDC). AAC Brown 18 has significantly higher (24%) yield than the check variety Centennial Brown. It is resistant to white rust race 2a, whereas Centennial Brown is susceptible to race 2a. AAC Brown 18 is well adapted to all mustard growing areas of western Canada.

Climate change impacts on agriculture dominated Canadian watershed

Agricultural water management plays a vital role in the food production and food security(Abbaspour, et al. 2007).Improper management of agriculture leads to local or far field water quality.Runoff from an agriculture land is considerably enriched with different kinds of nutrients, sediments, and pesticides. Nutrient loadings carried with the runoff has caused eutrophication to various degrees and scales, from small and large bays around the Great Lakes (e.g., Green Bay in Lake Michigan) to wide-scale eutrophication in some of the Great Lakes themselves (e.g., Lake Erie)(Inamdar, S. and Naumov, A. 2006)..Water quality and watershed management programs are highly benefitted from simulation models since the advent of computer-based watershed models( Daggupati et al. 2018). To this extent, present study used Soil and Water assessment Tool (SWAT) to investigate the climate change impacts on nutrient loadings primarily occur from runoff from a Canadian agriculture dominated watershed. We found that non-point source pollutants especially total N and total P originating from agriculture land is decreasing during mid and late century projections. Streamflow during winter and fall is projected to increase compared to historical period.
 Keywords: SWAT modeling, climate change impact, non-point source pollution

Immunostimulatory Potential of Fruits and Their Extracts in Poultry.

The impact of antibiotic use for growth promotion in livestock and poultry production on the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria led to the ban of this practice in the European Union in 2006 and a restriction of antimicrobial use (AMU) in animal agriculture in Canada and the United States of America. There is a high risk of infectious diseases such as necrotic enteritis due to Clostridium perfringens, and colibacillosis due to avian pathogenic Escherichia coli in antimicrobial-free broiler chickens. Thus, efficient and cost-effective methods for reducing AMU, maintaining good poultry health and reducing public health risks (food safety) are urgently needed for poultry production. Several alternative agents, including plant-derived polyphenolic compounds, have been investigated for their potential to prevent and control diseases through increasing poultry immunity. Many studies in humans reported that plant flavonoids could modulate the immune system by decreasing production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, T-cell activation, and proliferation. Fruits, especially berries, are excellent sources of flavonoids while being rich in nutrients and other functionally important molecules (vitamins and minerals). Thus, fruit byproducts or wastes could be important resources for value-added applications in poultry production. In the context of the circular economy and waste reduction, this review summarizes observed effects of fruit wastes/extracts on the general health and the immunity of poultry.

Introduction to the special issue on COVID‐19 and the Canadian agriculture and food sectors: Thoughts one year into the pandemic

Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomieVolume 69, Issue 2 p. 155-159 SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE Introduction to the special issue on COVID-19 and the Canadian agriculture and food sectors: Thoughts one year into the pandemic Alan P. Ker, Corresponding Author Alan P. Ker [email protected] Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada Correspondence Alan P. Ker, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorRyan Cardwell, Ryan Cardwell Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author Alan P. Ker, Corresponding Author Alan P. Ker [email protected] Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada Correspondence Alan P. Ker, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorRyan Cardwell, Ryan Cardwell Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, CanadaSearch for more papers by this author First published: 28 April 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/cjag.12289Citations: 2 Financial support to cover both page charges and technical editing was provided by the following: (i) Canadian Agricultural Economics Society; (ii) Masters of Food and Resource Economics (MFRE) Program, The University of British Columbia; (iii) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Saskatchewan; (iv) Sol Sinclair Institute of Farm Management, University of Manitoba; (v) Department of Agribusiness and Agricultural Economics, University of Manitoba; (vi) Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Guelph; (vii) McCain Family Chair in Food Security, University of Guelph; (viii) Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy, University of Guelph; (ix) OAC Research Chair in Agricultural Risk and Policy, University of Guelph; (x) Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph; and (xi) Département d’économie agroalimentaire et sciences de la consommation, Universite Laval Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume69, Issue2June 2021Pages 155-159 RelatedInformation

Introduction to the policy articles on Trump to Biden: Implications for Canadian Agriculture

AbstractPresident Biden was sworn in on January 20, 2021 after a 4‐year term by President Trump. Certainly, Trump's norm breaking presidency impacted Canada in significant ways and the agricultural sector was no exception. In this issue, we have a set of four short articles discussing the possible implications on Canadian agriculture of transitioning from a Trump to Biden presidency. Issues related to Canada‐U.S. agricultural trade, political norms and uncertainty, U.S. domestic support, participation in trade agreements, and U.S.‐China relations are all considered.

University of Florida Potato Variety Trials Spotlight: ‘Yukon Gold’

‘Yukon Gold’ is a fresh market potato variety selected from the progeny of a cross between W5279-4 and ‘Norgleam’ and tested under the pedigree G6666-4Y. It was released jointly by Agriculture Canada and Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, Canada in 1981. In Florida, ‘Yukon Gold’ demonstrates high yield and good tuber characteristics compared to the commercial standard ‘La Chipper’. Tuber production and quality results provided in this publication are from Florida Potato Variety Trials conducted at the UF/IFAS Hastings Agricultural Extension Center between 1999 and 2019.

Opportunities and trade-offs for expanding agriculture in Canada’s North: an ecosystem service perspective

Climate change will create warmer temperatures, greater precipitation, and longer growing seasons in northern latitudes making agriculture increasingly possible in boreal regions. To assess the potential of any such expansion, this paper provides a first-order approximation of how much land could become suitable for four staple crops (corn, potato, soy, and wheat) in Canada by 2080. In addition, we estimate how the environmental trade-offs of northern agricultural expansion will impact critical ecosystem services. Primarily, we evaluate how the regulatory ecosystem services of carbon storage and sequestration and the habitat services supporting biodiversity would be traded for the provisioning services of food production. Here we show that under climate change projected by Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5, ∼1.85 million km2of land may become suitable for farming in Canada’s North, which, if utilized, would lead to the release of ∼15 gigatonnes of carbon if all forests and wetlands are cleared and plowed. These land-use changes would also have profound implications for Indigenous sovereignty and the governance of protected and conserved areas in Canada. These results highlight that research is urgently needed so that stakeholders can become aware of the scope of potential economic opportunities, cultural issues, and environmental trade-offs required for agricultural sustainability in Canada.

СОВЕРШЕНСТВОВАНИЕ ЦИФРОВИЗАЦИИ СЕЛЬСКОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА НА ОСНОВЕ ОПЫТА КАНАДЫ

The choice of the object of research is due to both the common soil, climatic and economic conditions for the development of agriculture in Canada and Russia, and the similarity of problems in the digitalization of the industry. The article examines the features, innovative solutions and measures to support the digital transformation of the agricultural sector in Canada. As a result of the analysis, the approaches to the implementation of digital solutions in the agriculture of Canada were identified that can be applied in Russia, the experience in conducting statistical monitoring of the activities of farmers using modern technolo-gies was studied, the directions of state support for agricultural producers in the period of digital transfor-mations were determined.

The systemized exploitation of temporary migrant agricultural workers in Canada: Exacerbation of health vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for the future

In 2018, 55,734 jobs in Canadian agriculture were filled by temporary migrant workers, accounting for nearly 20 percent of total employment in this sector. Though referred to as temporary, those migrant workers often fill long-term positions and provide crucial support to the Canadian agricultural industry, which has seen an increasing disengagement from the domestic workforce in the last fifteen years. Health vulnerabilities faced by temporary migrant workers are already well documented. In addition, there are multiple systemic factors inherent within the structure and implementation of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program that contribute to the perpetuation of health inequities within this population. The COVID-19 pandemic has both exacerbated many of these disparities and further increased the risk of labour rights violations and vulnerability to exploitation for these workers. As Canada's 2020 growing season comes to an end, thousands of temporary migrant agricultural workers are returning to their native countries. With planning for next year's growing season already commencing, this timely analysis aims to examine health vulnerabilities faced by TMAWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five key areas are examined: occupational injuries, substandard living conditions, psychological difficulties, lack of access to healthcare and barriers in exercising labour rights. Building on this analysis, recommendations for policy and practice aimed at improving migrant workers’ health are discussed.

118 A comparison of intravaginal progesterone devices for fixed-time artificial insemination in beef cattle

Intravaginal progesterone (P4) devices used for ovarian synchronization before fixed-time AI (FTAI) differ in drug release, which may influence fertility outcome. A 2×2 study was designed to determine the effects of different intravaginal devices (PRID Delta, 1.55g of P4 vs. CIDR, 1.38g of P4) and parity (heifers vs. cows) on follicular dynamics, expression of oestrus, and pregnancy per AI (P/AI). At random stages of the oestrous cycle, nulliparous beef heifers and lactating cows were given 100µg of gonadorelin (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, GnRH) intramuscularly (IM) and assigned randomly to either the PRID (n=76 heifers, 76 multiparous, 27 primiparous) or CIDR (n=76 heifers, 73 multiparous, 32 primiparous) group. Devices were removed 5 days later, an oestrus-detection patch was applied just cranial to the tail head, and 500µg of cloprostenol was given IM at the time of device removal and again 24h later. At 72h after device removal, cattle were inseminated and given 100µg of GnRH IM. Transrectal ultrasonography was used to determine the diameter of the largest follicle on the day of device removal and at FTAI, ovulation time, and pregnancy status 30 days after FTAI. A colour change of ≥50% of the oestrus-detection patch at FTAI was taken as expression of oestrus. Data were compared among groups by 2-way ANOVA using MIXED and GLIMMIX procedures. There were no interactions between P4 device and parity for any endpoint. The diameter of the largest follicle (mean±s.e.m.) was not different between PRID and CIDR groups on either the day of device removal (10.6±0.1 vs. 10.9±0.1mm) or the day of FTAI (13.7±0.1 vs. 13.9±0.1mm). The proportion displaying oestrus did not differ between P4 device groups, but was greater in heifers than in cows [121/152 (79.6%) vs. 135/207 (65.2%); P<0.01], and the interval from FTAI to ovulation was shorter in heifers than in cows (27.8±1.2 vs. 32.0±1.1 h; P=0.01). The P/AI was not different between P4 device groups or parity groups (overall 67.0%, 238/355). However, among lactating cows, the P/AI tended to be greater in the PRID vs. CIDR group [75/102 (73.5%) vs. 64/105 (61.0%); P=0.10], and was greater in multiparous vs. primiparous cows [106/148 (71.6%) vs. 33/59 (55.9%); P=0.04]. Among cattle that displayed oestrus, the P/AI tended to be greater in the PRID vs. CIDR group [92/123 (74.8%) vs. 85/131 (64.9%); P=0.09]. Among lactating cows that displayed oestrus, the P/AI was greater in multiparous vs. primiparous cows [74/94 (78.2%) vs. 24/42 (57.1%); P<0.01]. In summary, follicular dynamics and expression of oestrus did not differ between PRID and CIDR groups, but the P/AI tended to be greater in PRID-treated lactating cows and in cattle that displayed oestrus. This research was supported by CEVA Animal Health, Saskatchewan ADF, Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, and Rockway Inc.

27 Cryopreservation of bovine semen using cell-permeating antioxidant and protein-free extender

Effective semen extenders are those with defined composition that promote sperm longevity. Generation of reactive oxygen species during semen cryopreservation results in sperm membrane lipid peroxidation and reduced longevity. Recent studies demonstrated that small cell permeating dimethyl tyrosine conjugated peptides, such as SS-31, translocate to the mitochondria and scavenge excess reactive oxygen species. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the addition of SS-31 improves the post-thaw quality and fertility potential of bovine semen. The effect of SS-31 was tested in combination with two extenders: (1) conventional tris-egg yolk-glycerol (TEYG, control) and (2) cholesterol-cyclodextrin+tris-glycerol (CC+TG, a defined protein-free extender). Fifteen ejaculates were collected from 5 Black Angus bulls. Ejaculates were diluted to 400×106 spermmL−1 with tris-citric acid buffer, and treated with 0, 50, or 100 µmolmL−1 SS-31 for 15min at 32°C. Semen aliquots were diluted further with TEYG, 0.5mgmL−1 CC+TG, or 1mgmL−1 CC+TG extender to a final concentration of 50×106 spermmL−1. Semen was then cooled to 4°C and frozen in a programmable freezer. Post-thaw sperm motion parameters were evaluated at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 24h with CASA. Semen fertility was determined by fixed-time AI using Hereford-cross cows (n=100). Synchronized cows were inseminated once with semen extended in TEYG, 1mgmL−1 CC+TG, or 1mgmL−1 CC+TG + 100 µmolmL−1 SS-31. Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasonography at 27 days post-insemination. Post-thaw sperm motion parameters were compared by ANOVA for repeated-measures, and pregnancy rates were compared using binomial linear mixed-model ANOVA. No differences in sperm motion parameters were detected among SS-31 treatments within extenders. Semen extended in TEYG or 1mgmL−1 CC+TG had greater total and progressive motilities at 0 and 2h post-thaw than semen extended in 0.5mgmL−1 CC+TG (P<0.05). Pregnancy rates after fixed-time insemination did not differ among semen extender groups [TEYG: 15/25 (60%), 1mgmL−1 CC+TG: 19/34 (56%), 100 µmolmL−1 SS-31+1mgmL−1 CC+TG: 21/37 (57%)]. Addition of the cell permeating antioxidant SS-31 did not improve post-thaw semen quality or fertility. The CC+TG extender was as robust as conventional egg yolk extender in protecting bovine sperm during cryopreservation. This research was supported by NSERC Canada, the Government of Saskatchewan, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

AAC Banner oat

AAC Banner is a white-hulled spring oat (Avena sativa L.) cultivar developed at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. AAC Banner yielded well in Ontario and Quebec, particularly in southern and eastern Ontario, partially due to its superior resistance to crown rust (Puccinia coronata Corda. f. sp. avenae Eriks). AAC Banner also has high β-glucan content and superior post-maturation standability.

ДЕРЖАВНЕ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ТА ПІДТРИМКА ОРГАНІЧНОГО СІЛЬСЬКОГОСПОДАРСЬКОГО ВИРОБНИЦТВА: ОГЛЯД ОСНОВНИХ ПОКАЗНИКІВ ТА ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ДВОХ КРАЇН

The goal of organic agricultural production is to provide humanity with high-quality food without genetically modified organisms and to support the sustainability of society. It is noted that the many benefits of organic agriculture make us think about the prospects for the development of global agriculture as one of the key factors influencing the future of the next generations. n this article we outline the main stages of evolution in the organic farming sphere and emphasize the characteristics that are relevant to each stage; define the term “organic farming” specified for Canadian and Ukrainian legislative systems. This paper also highlights the main prerequisites for the need for state support for organic production in the world on the example of two big organic producers – Canada and Ukraine. Based on the main indicators of the current state and level of development in both countries, the need for government regulation, support, and stimulation are considered. The main approaches to the stimulation and development of organic production in Canada are considered in order to determine priorities for Ukraine. It is established that subsidies for organic agriculture in Canada at one time gave an extremely important impetus to the development of this area of agricultural production, which ultimately led to significant progress in environmental protection, climate change mitigation, health, development of rural areas, and consumer protection. Also, it gave a significant boost for the national farmers, so they could grow in the area and improve their farming activity using innovative technologies. The domestic experience of financial and organizational and legal support of the organic sphere at the state and regional levels for the formation of areas for improvement is analyzed. The necessity of not only direct financial state support, but also active educational, research, and organizational support together with representatives of the active community and business has been proved. It was recovered that the main problems of the development of organic farming in Ukraine and obstacles to the formation of green policy in the field of agriculture include the following: lack of state control and statistical reporting of production, circulation, and sale of organic production; - lack of developed infrastructure in the organic sector of the agricultural sector; - imperfection of the system of certification and labeling of organic products, inconsistency of these processes with European standards; - lack of state support programs for organic producers and an insufficient number of local support programs. The necessity of a systematic approach to the stimulation and development of the domestic organic sphere to ensure the sustainability of the agricultural sector of Ukraine is substantiated. It is established that the policy of organic support in our country is not yet characterized by a high level of system and consistency, but important initial steps have been taken in the areas of organizational, legal, and financial support of organic production.

Application of Google Earth Engine Cloud Computing Platform, Sentinel Imagery, and Neural Networks for Crop Mapping in Canada

The ability of the Canadian agriculture sector to make better decisions and manage its operations more competitively in the long term is only as good as the information available to inform decision-making. At all levels of Government, a reliable flow of information between scientists, practitioners, policy-makers, and commodity groups is critical for developing and supporting agricultural policies and programs. Given the vastness and complexity of Canada’s agricultural regions, space-based remote sensing is one of the most reliable approaches to get detailed information describing the evolving state of the country’s environment. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)—the Canadian federal department responsible for agriculture—produces the Annual Space-Based Crop Inventory (ACI) maps for Canada. These maps are valuable operational space-based remote sensing products which cover the agricultural land use and non-agricultural land cover found within Canada’s agricultural extent. Developing and implementing novel methods for improving these products are an ongoing priority of AAFC. Consequently, it is beneficial to implement advanced machine learning and big data processing methods along with open-access satellite imagery to effectively produce accurate ACI maps. In this study, for the first time, the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud computing platform was used along with an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) algorithm and Sentinel-1, -2 images to produce an object-based ACI map for 2018. Furthermore, different limitations of the proposed method were discussed, and several suggestions were provided for future studies. The Overall Accuracy (OA) and Kappa Coefficient (KC) of the final 2018 ACI map using the proposed GEE cloud method were 77% and 0.74, respectively. Moreover, the average Producer Accuracy (PA) and User Accuracy (UA) for the 17 cropland classes were 79% and 77%, respectively. Although these levels of accuracies were slightly lower than those of the AAFC’s ACI map, this study demonstrated that the proposed cloud computing method should be investigated further because it was more efficient in terms of cost, time, computation, and automation.

AAC Asher field pea

AAC Asher is a semi-leafless, medium to large seeded, yellow cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) variety developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe Research and Development Centre, Lacombe, AB, Canada. It has high yielding potential, early to medium maturity, and good lodging resistance. AAC Asher has maturity of 94 d and a 1000-seed weight of 257 g. AAC Asher is resistant to powdery mildew (caused by Erysiphe pisi DC.), moderately tolerant to Mycosphaerella blight (caused by Mycosphaerella pinodes) and Fusarium wilt (caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl.). AAC Asher is adapted to all field growing regions in western Canada.

An updated nitrogen budget for Canadian agroecosystems

Nitrogen (N) is an essential ingredient for the production of food in agricultural systems. As the use of industrial fertilizers has risen over time, so too have concerns relating to N losses from these systems and the contamination of air and water, climate change impacts and biodiversity losses these cause. In order to balance continuing and improving agricultural productivity with the potential for N losses, improved estimates of N additions, N use efficiency (NUE, the ratio between N inputs and N exported in products) and N losses to the environment are crucial.We estimated the N balance for Canadian agroecosystems based on 2016 data and used similar but updated assumptions and coefficients to recalculate estimates from a previous study based on 1996 data. This approach calculated the overall recovery of N in Canadian agriculture by imposing a system boundary around all farmlands, and then estimating the N balance within that area. In 2016, a total of 3.80 Tg of N were input to the agroecosystems from biological (0.94 Tg), industrial (2.54 Tg) and atmospheric (0.32 Tg) fixation, compared with 2.42 Tg in 1996 (a 57 % increase). Between 1996 and 2016, crop NUE increased from 46.7 to 50.8 %, livestock NUE from 21.2 to 22.8 %, and agroecosystem NUE from 58.3 to 59.5 %. Due to higher total N inputs and a decrease in the area of agricultural land, the total mass of N added to the system and not exported in crop and livestock products rose by over 50 % (from 1.01 to 1.54 Tg). This indicates that although N use efficiencies improved over the 20-year period, the total mass of N potentially lost to the environment increased significantly. To improve N use efficiencies and reduce N losses, management strategies must be tailored to different conditions across Canada’s agricultural landscape, adopted at all stages of agricultural production and consider the multiple flows and feedbacks of N within the agroecosystem. Future research should aim not just at improving N use efficiency, but also at tracing more precisely the fate of N unaccounted for, so that losses can at least be steered away from more pernicious routes.

Reviewer Acknowledgements for Journal of Plant Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2

Journal of Plant Studies wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance with peer review of manuscripts for this issue. Their help and contributions in maintaining the quality of the journal are greatly appreciated.
 Journal of Plant Studies is recruiting reviewers for the journal. If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, we welcome you to join us. Please contact us for the application form at: jps@ccsenet.org
 Reviewers for Volume 9, Number 2
 Adriana F. Sestras, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Romania
 Alejandra Matiz, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
 Fardausi Akhter, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada
 Khyati Hitesh Shah, Stanford University, United States
 Kirandeep Kaur Mani, California seed and Plant Labs, USA
 Malgorzata Pietrowska-Borek, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland
 Massimo Zacchini, National Research Council of Italy, Italy
 Md. Asaduzzaman, Agricultural Research Institute, Bangladesh
 Melekber Sulusoglu, Arslanbey Vocational School Kocaeli University, Turkey
 Milana Trifunovic-Momcilov, Institute for Biological Research “Sinisa Stankovic”, Serbia
 Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi, Tanta University, Egypt
 Rakesh Ponnala, Zoetis Inc, United States
 Romina A. Marc, Univ. of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania
 Slawomir Borek, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
 Tomoo misawa, Donan Agricultural Experiment Station, Hokkaido Research Organization, Japan

Family Farmers to Foreign Fieldhands: Consolidation of Canadian Agriculture and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Family Farmers to Foreign Fieldhands: Consolidation of Canadian Agriculture and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Grown Locally, Harvested Globally: The Role of Temporary Foreign Workers in Canadian Agriculture

Canadians produce a lot of food, but harvesting that food has increasingly meant relying on a growing force of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) In 2020, however, border restrictions imposed by Canadian governments to control the spread of the novel coronavirus, and perhaps the reluctance of TFWs to travel to Canada during the pandemic, have significantly impeded the use of TFWs in Canada's food-production system That has revealed the vulnerabilities of the Canadian food supply chain to globally disruptive events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the risk to a system that has, historically, provided Canadians with a stable, affordable supply of food for their local grocery stores By the end of 2019, Canada had seen a record number of TFWs employed in the agriculture sector, as the number of Canadian citizens and permanent residents employed in the industry has remained relatively stagnant and even declined However, travel restrictions imposed by Canadian governments due to the COVID-19 pandemic have coincided with a significant reduction in TFWs working in Canada in 2020 In total, there has been a 14-per-cent drop in the arrival of TFWs working in Canadian agriculture this year Producers in the secondary agricultural sector, such as meat-processing and seafood-processing facilities, had been experiencing the fastest growth in the use of TFWs until now, and have seen the greatest relative reduction in TFW arrivals in comparison to 2019 Farms, which are primary producers, have experienced the largest reduction in TFW arrivals in absolute terms Although the economic effects of the pandemic-related lockdown have put many Canadians out of work, replacing TFWs with Canadian workers may not be practicable Producers may not be able to hire Canadians willing to work on farms, ranches or in food-processing plants in sufficient numbers to make up for the shortfall in TFWs When the government of New Brunswick completely banned the entry of TFWs due to the pandemic, it did not result in a significant increase in local hiring In addition, TFWs often come with experience gained from previous years working in Canada's food sector;training Canadians to replace them requires time and resources that can jeopardize the precious time that producers have to complete seasonal seeding, harvesting, and fishing activities Policy-makers will need to consider ways to ensure that TFWs, which have become critical to Canada's food supply chain, are able to come to Canada safely and work in safe environments, in the face of the pandemic health risk This year will already be a more difficult one for producers, and future years could face similar challenges Canadians have come to rely on the use of TFWs to ensure fully stocked grocery stores carrying affordable food products If producers are increasingly unable to source international labour to produce that food, Canada's reliable and affordable food supply may be at risk [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of School of Public Policy Publications is the property of University of Calgary, School of Public Policy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )