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Check-off Program Now Available to Canadian Grain Farmers

Canadian Government Delivers Voluntary Check-Off Program

By , Farms.com

Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced July 27, 2012 that the producer check-off is now in place for Western Canadian grain farmers. The check-off helps to fund research, market development and provides assistance to grain producers. The check-off is one step in the transition process towards marketing freedom for western grain farmers. The transition comes after the announcement to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board.

The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act allows check-off monies to be used towards the following areas:

  • Research activities into new and improved grain varieties;
  • The promotion of the marketing and use of grain grown in Canada; and
  • Technical assistance relating to the use of grain grown in Canada.


"Our Government committed to ensuring that a producer check-off would be in place beginning August 1 so that farmers continue to benefit from important research and market development," said Minister Ritz. "As marketing freedom becomes reality, farmers can be confident that this check-off will help ensure that their businesses remain on the cutting edge of research and innovation."

The check-off option is voluntary, and will be a deduction on farmer’s cash purchase tickets when they sell their grain. The check-off program will be fully transparent and will allow farmers to see first-hand their support to grain research and development. The program will not come off when dealing with imports or producer-to-producer sales.


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In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.