Alberta is set to launch Canada’s first crop insurance product for malt barley this year. The province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) last week said it will now provide insurance coverage for a malting end-use for growers with malt barley contracts. The coverage is subject to a contract from a licensed buyer, with a minimum […] Read more
Alberta to launch malt barley insurance
Foreign worker break for seafood sector a ‘one-time’ deal
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Canada’s move to loosen restrictions on hiring foreign workers for East Coast seafood plants was a one-time decision, and the government is not convinced other sectors need similar measures, the country’s employment minister said Thursday. The Liberal government eased restrictions under its foreign worker program recently for Atlantic seafood processors, allowing […] Read more
U.S. Senate blocks bill that would override state GMO labeling laws
Reuters — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday blocked a bill that would nullify state and local efforts to require food makers to label products made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as the industry races to stop Vermont’s law from taking effect on July 1. The proposed legislation from Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas comes […] Read more
India backstops first phase of Sask. potash mine
Winnipeg | Reuters — India’s Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals has agreed to guarantee payments on US$700 million in debt to finance the first phase of Karnalyte Resources’ Saskatchewan potash mine project, Karnalyte said Monday, adding supply even as other miners cut production. Under the deal, a subsidiary of State Bank of India and other […] Read more
La Nina seen maybe succeeding El Nino
Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster said Thursday it sees a near 50 per cent chance La Nina could develop by the Northern Hemisphere fall on the heels of the El Nino conditions likely to dissipate in the coming months. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the U.S. National Weather Service, in […] Read more
U.S. ag secretary calls for mandatory GMO label
Legislation to avoid a patchwork of state laws on labeling of genetically modified (GMO) foods should make such labels mandatory, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told farmers in New Orleans Friday. Vilsack’s remarks at the Commodity Classic, a U.S. farmers’ trade show and multi-group convention, come as the U.S. Senate agriculture committee sends its proposal […] Read more
Oilpatch slowdown steers couple back to farming
Kelly Hansen thought he had put farming behind him, but he and wife Jocelyn have been drawn back to the land
Reading Time: 2 minutes While many are suffering because of the downturn in the oilpatch, the Hansen family is using the slowdown as an opportunity to get into farming. Kelly Hansen grew up on a farm near Dapp, but left when he was 16 and was happy to put farming behind him. “But as things changed, I wanted to […] Read more
Ad Feature: Centrallia brings export opportunities to centre stage
Canada’s geographical centre is set to reach out to the world in May, as host of a business-to-business (B2B) forum for agribusinesses and other sectors to network across the globe from one spot. That forum is one component of Centrallia, in which over 700 participants from Canada and over 30 other countries are expected at […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle steady but demand remains sluggish
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded in line with week-ago levels on average, though the market was quite variable across the Prairies. Favourable temperatures in southern Alberta enhanced demand on all weight categories, especially on grassers from 500 to 650 lbs. Higher-quality backgrounded cattle were also $4-$8 higher in certain cases in Alberta. In Saskatchewan […] Read more
U.S. EPA moves to pull crop insecticide from sale
CLARIFIED, March 7, 2016: Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it was moving to halt sale of insecticides from chemical firms Bayer and Nichino America containing an active ingredient, flubendiamide, found to pose risks to the environment. Bayer CropScience had anticipated the action after rejecting the EPA’s request to voluntarily […] Read more
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