The Ontario government has balanced its budget for the first time in since 2008 — but Thursday’s budget contained little news for agriculture and rural Ontario. Finance Minister Charles Sousa’s budget mostly highlighted agriculture programs that had already been announced, and maintains $100 million in funding for the provincial Risk Management Program, which helps offsets […] Read more
Ontario budget seeks tax flexibility for on-farm processing
Alberta recruits new board for AFSC
Alberta’s provincial government has named a new board of directors to its farm financing and crop insurance agency, to replace the board it fired last year. Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier on Thursday announced the appointment of a new eight-member board for the provincial Agriculture Financial Services Corp., (AFSC), which has been handled by an interim […] Read more
BASF still out for ag chem deals
Frankfurt | Reuters –– German chemicals giant BASF said it would continue to push for acquisitions to shore up its crop protection business, after the antitrust-related sale of assets from the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont left it empty-handed. “We are generally interested in strengthening our business further, acquisitions are part of that, that […] Read more
Trump tells Canada, Mexico he won’t terminate NAFTA treaty yet
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House said. The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers […] Read more
White House readies order to quit NAFTA
Washington | Reuters — The White House is considering a draft executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday. It was unclear whether the order would be enacted by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to pull out from the U.S./Mexico/Canada trade […] Read more
Unfarmed areas could offer yield boost
Reading Time: < 1 minute Does unfarmed land next to your fields boost yields? A new University of Calgary study aims to see if fields next to grassed areas, fencelines, wetlands, tree lines, and similar adjacent areas have higher yields. Studies in the U.S., U.K., Northern Europe, and Australia have found that, like shelterbelts, unfarmed areas give a yield boost. […] Read more
VIDEO: Underground undies measuring the health of soil
Are you bold enough to soil your undies? The Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) is and it recently kicked off National Soil Conservation Week by burying several pairs of men’s cotton underwear up to the waistband. After 60 days in six inches of soil, what will it all mean? A healthy soil will show that the […] Read more
Saskatchewan budget seen as costly touch for farms
Saskatchewan’s general farm organization is consulting its farmer members on less-discussed features of last month’s provincial budget, while warning them to brace for impact from new budget-related costs. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan last Monday wrapped up its latest round of spring district meetings, at all six of which APAS general manager Duane Haave […] Read more
New study on glyphosate to feed into crucial EU vote
London | Reuters — Results of a new animal study into possible health risks of glyphosate will be published in time to inform a key EU re-licensing vote due by the end of 2017, according to the researcher leading the trial. A row over possible effects of glyphosate — an ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup […] Read more
Canpotex aims for ‘material’ potash price bump from China
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian potash exporter Canpotex is pressing Chinese buyers to pay a “material” price increase for the fertilizer in their annual supply contract, as spot values in other markets rise off multi-year lows, Canpotex’s chief executive said on Monday. “We’re not interested in some kind of ratcheting down. That is for sure,” […] Read more
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