The business environment is changing for Canadian agribusiness, and so too membership associations are being driven to change to accommodate members. Agribusinesses are increasingly beginning to scrutinize which associations they choose to be part of and support. This has more to do with their time constraints and value added, rather than annual dues and participation costs. Selection of membership associations is now more based on alignment with members’ strategic goals and representation and support of the ag industry.

In today’s age of advanced technology and connectedness, disinformation has become a product with a market, competing for your knowledge and expertise no matter who you are or where you work.
The Retailer Hall of Fame award was established in 2008 as the “lifetime achievement award” for our industry. This award recognizes an individual who has consistently demonstrated exceptional performance and dedication over time. Jeff Holmes of Holmes Agro is this year’s winner of the CAAR Retailer Hall of Fame Award.
As an independent retailer TerraLink is regularly looking for information on what is happening at both the regulatory and the industry level. Located in the Lower Mainland of BC we are distant from the mainstream ag focused provinces and in south coastal BC there are only a few key dealers who keenly compete against each other, so basically, we are on our own.
“Rosenort Agro has been a member of CAAR since pretty well the beginning of CAAR,” says Denis Benjamin, General Manager, Rosenort Agro. Rosenort Agro was started by Levi Brandt in the late 1940s as a fuel and oil company.
Clyde Graham recently spoke about how Fertilizer Canada is working in partnership with ag retailers, several programs and partnerships to promote sustainability.
At the 2021 Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers Conference, Todd Ormann recently spoke about his business and commercial development with global Telus Agriculture partners and the value of ag tech to the retail channel.
Europe’s Standing Committee on Plants, Animals and Feed (SCoPAFF) recently adopted a regulation to set clethodim maximum residue limits (MRL’s) to the limit of quantification (LOQ) for the European Union. Clethodim is the active ingredient in BASF’s Select and Centurion, Loveland’s Shadow RTM, and NuFarm’s Statue, among other brands. Industry experts are not planning to change recommendations around products carrying the chemistry at this point.
Jeremy Mollet, who works for the Safety, Health, and Environmental Leadership Team at Nutrien shared an overview of Nutrien’s culture, areas of focus, and significant actions relating to safety at the 2021 Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers Conference in February.
Dr. Scott Downey, Director of the Centre for Food and Agricultural Business at Purdue University, coordinates Purdue’s sales and marketing degree program.
Robert Gobeil, Ag Health and Safety Specialist for the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) recently provided insights about safety from an ag retailers’ perspective
Benchmarking is the process of comparing and measuring business processes and performance metrics to industry leaders which will help the organization take action to improve its own structure.
As Director of AgCareers.com and CareersInFood.com, Kathryn Doan works on leading and developing companies’ business offerings and connecting people to career opportunities across the whole ag value chain.
CAAR would like to thank all members who have already paid their membership fees for 2021-22!
Understanding the Carbon Tax
Carbon taxes have a large impact on the profitability and operations of businesses. Jeff Harrison, CPA, CMA, Indirect Tax Partner at MNP LLP recently gave an update on what the carbon tax is and how it might impact the agriculture industry in the future.