Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada and Crop Production Services are once again offering a discount on Proven forage seed for producers who convert cropland to pastures. Alberta and Saskatchewan producers receive a rebate of $100 per 50-pound bag of forage seed, while Manitoba producers can get up to $125 for every new forage acre seeded as part […] Read more
Seed rebate for cropland conversion
Newfoundland shifts Lands Branch to new department
The government branch overseeing Crown land in Newfoundland and Labrador will join the provincial ministry handling the agrifoods file, as the province moves to cut public sector costs. Premier Dwight Ball on Wednesday announced what he billed as the “Flatter, Leaner Management Structure” for the provincial government, a reorganization which will see 287 management positions […] Read more
New version of soil viewer launched
Reading Time: < 1 minute An updated version of the Soil Information Viewer is now available. “The viewer accesses soil information stored in database tables called the Agricultural Regions of Alberta Soil Inventory Database,” said David Spiess, a provincial geographical information systems engineer. “The information in the database looks at the ability of Alberta soils to grow grains crops, allows […] Read more
Warm Saskatchewan weather spells early load limits
A long spell of spring-like weather in Saskatchewan’s southwest has softened roads to the point where winter weights are about to be removed. Increased winter weights will end in southwestern Saskatchewan, including several major roads and 70 rural municipalities, starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday (Feb. 24), the provincial highways department announced Wednesday. Affected roads will […] Read more
Bayer sees pesticide profits stagnating before Monsanto takeover
Leverkusen, Germany | Reuters — German drugs and pesticides maker Bayer forecast a year without earnings growth for its agricultural products business on Wednesday, as it seeks to complete its US$66 billion deal to take over U.S. seeds giant Monsanto. Bayer has said the deal, which would put the size of its agricultural business on […] Read more
EU regulators reported set to clear Dow, DuPont deal
Brussels | Reuters — Dow Chemical and DuPont are set to win EU antitrust approval for their US$130 billion merger, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal, which still needs approval from U.S. and other regulators, has faced intense scrutiny from the European Commission. Of particular concern is combining the two […] Read more
Quebec extends organic conversion funding plan
A support program for Quebec farmers to convert crop, livestock or maple syrup operations to organic production will get an extension. Provincial Agriculture Minister Laurent Lessard on Monday announced the three-year, $4 million organic agriculture conversion support program set up in June 2015 will now run to the end of March 2022. The program offers […] Read more
U.K. farming minister seeks big changes to farm policy post-Brexit
Birmingham | Reuters –– Britain’s farm policy is set for a major shake-up when the country leaves the European Union because the current system is poor value for money, has too much red tape and provides few incentives to use the latest technologies, farming and environment minister Andrea Leadsom said Tuesday. Leadsom said she was […] Read more
Saskatchewan approves largest multi-farm drainage plan
Saskatchewan’s provincial Water Security Agency has signed off on what it describes as the largest single agricultural drainage project in the province’s history, with more projects of a similar scale to come. The province announced Thursday it has issued a single approval for 73 landowners in the province’s southeast to set up an “organized and […] Read more
Newfoundland expands Crown land base for farming
CORRECTED, Feb. 28, 2017 — The Newfoundland and Labrador government plans to boost the amount of land available to the province’s farmers by allocating more Crown land for development. The province’s Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Agrifoods announced Thursday it has now identified 62 “agriculture areas of interest” to date, totalling about 158,150 acres. The […] Read more
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