Mr. Basillais began his career with the CDC as an economist in 2003. He has held various leadership positions with the CDC, and was named Director of Policy and Economics in 2016. He brings to the position of CEO extensive experience with both the CDC and the sector.

Mr. Riendeau was first appointed as CEO of the CDC in 2018. As CEO, he has worked to improve collaboration between segments of the dairy supply chain, and supported the modernization of supply management. 

The CEO will deliver on the CDC’s annual plan, and will contribute to delivering on the priorities outlined in the CDC’s mandate letter. The mandate letter recognizes the importance of a vibrant and sustainable dairy sector to Canada’s economy, as well as the importance of dairy supply management for rural communities and farm families across the country. The mandate letter calls on the CDC to continue to advance the Government of Canada’s ambitious environmental commitments and support climate resiliency. It also outlines priorities in the areas of transparency, innovation, international trade, engagement, and inclusivity.

In 2016, the Government of Canada implemented an open, transparent and merit-based process for selecting Governor in Council appointees. Appointees play a fundamental role in Canada’s democracy by serving on commissions, boards, Crown corporations, agencies and tribunals across the country.

“With over 20 years of service at the Canadian Dairy Commission, Benoit Basillais is very familiar with both the stakeholders and the issues facing the dairy industry. Now as CEO, I trust that he will make a significant contribution to the success of the dairy industry while increasing the transparency of the pricing mechanism. I would also like to thank Serge Riendeau for the invaluable contribution he made during his four years at the helm of the Commission.”

says Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

The post Minister Bibeau Announces the Appointment of Basillais as Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Dairy Commission appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

As Danny Munch, American Farm Bureau Federation Economist points out, this new ERP program is basically a revamped version of the old WHIP+ program and will provide six billion [dollars] in ad hoc disaster assistance for producers who experienced qualifying losses from severe weather events in 2020 and 2021. ERP includes losses from events like wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, freezes, derechos, and also drought under the D3 and D4 categories, as well as D2 after eight consecutive weeks. It also covers losses from related conditions that occurred concurrently to major disasters like smoke exposure during wildfires.

This is supposed to happen within the next few weeks. Producers will then have to return their completed and signed prefilled applications to their local FSA office and should expect to receive payments in June-July. Producers who did not have crop insurance or NAP coverage, did not receive an indemnity, or had an area-based policy, will not be sent a prefilled application.

Again, for those that qualify under phase one of ERP, they will be sent prefilled applications based on their existing FSA information. For those that don’t get a prefilled application, they unfortunately will have to wait for information on Phase Two of the program to be announced. Also, we have a few payment examples available on our Market Intel website for farmers to review and see how they might be able to benefit.

The post US Agricultural Department Releases New Recovery Program to Cover Natural Disaster Losses appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

“We are pleased with the confirmation of Secretary Vilsack today. Having leadership in place provides certainty and a path forward as we approach the busy planting season for our members and their farmer customers.

“Secretary Vilsack will be the most experienced person to hold this position in history. That experience will allow him to hit the ground running without the learning curve that others would have faced. This also means he has the knowledge of the inner workings of the federal government, allowing him to help agriculture when possible, and defend it when necessary.

“He has a history of commitment to and understanding of the value of fundamental agricultural issues like expanding free trade, protecting crops and livestock from invasive pests and pathogens, and the need to continually advance science, technology and agricultural practices.

“Secretary Vilsack knows the positive role that agriculture can play addressing climate change through working lands conservation programs, biofuels, agronomic practices and other innovations. ARA’s membership recently adopted its policy positions for the year, and many of our values align as such. We are ready to work together to ensure that the ag retailer’s voice continues to be heard.”

The post ARA Retailers Ready To Work With US Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.