With COVID-19 serving to “accelerate” changes in the industry, BMO Bank of Montreal says it has reset its farm banking work under the oversight of an expanded national agriculture and agribusiness banking team. BMO announced the new team approach Oct. 14, describing it as “a national team of agriculture banking specialists — team members with […] Read more
BMO regroups ag banking business
Ag-focused national banking team put in place
Alberta gives oil and gas drillers municipal tax break
Reuters — Struggling oil and gas companies in Alberta will get a three-year break on municipal property taxes for land where they are drilling wells or building pipelines, the provincial government said on Monday. The Alberta government said it would also lower property tax assessments on less-productive wells and eliminate a provincial tax on drills. […] Read more
World Food Program seeking billions within six months to avert famine
Pandemic may double hunger worldwide, agency says
London | Reuters — The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) will need to raise US$6.8 billion over the next six months to avert famine amid the COVID-19 crisis, the agency said on Tuesday. The WFP, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last week for its efforts to prevent the use of hunger as […] Read more
Life on The Farm shows what learning could look like in a post-pandemic world
Students at The Farm had quite a different back-to-school experience after the pandemic
Reading Time: 3 minutes After years of planning and months of hard work, The Farm — Rocky View School Division’s new alternative learning program — finally got its first batch of eager high school students out in the field, ready to get their hands dirty. But it was in February. “The first year on The Farm was horrible,” said […] Read more
Federal fund, Alberta government back irrigation upgrades
Infrastructure Bank lends cash for system improvements
Eight irrigation districts in Alberta are set to tap into the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s new $1.5 billion pool of funding earmarked for irrigation, to receive loans worth about $407.5 million. The Alberta and federal governments on Friday announced a total investment of $815 million — including repayable CIB funds, provincial support and irrigation district contributions […] Read more
Fertilizer use fuelling climate-warming nitrous oxide emissions, study says
London | Reuters — Rising use of nitrogen-based fertilizers is driving up global emissions of nitrous oxide, a lesser-known greenhouse gas, complicating efforts to limit climate change, scientists reported in a study on Wednesday. Most of the focus in curbing climate-warming gas emissions has focused on the most abundant, carbon dioxide, and one of the […] Read more
Second Seeds Canada merger vote to proceed sans CSGA
Seed Growers membership had voted against amalgamation deal
A proposal to combine Canada’s seed industry groups into a single organization, to be dubbed Seeds Canada, will be subject to a new vote, this time with one less group on board. The Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA); Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC) and Canadian Seed Institute announced […] Read more
Syngenta buys biologics group Valagro
Zurich | Reuters — Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals giant owned by ChemChina, has acquired Italian biologicals group Valagro, a company with US$175 million in 2019 sales that uses natural solutions to fight pests and diseases and to improve crops. Syngenta said in a statement Tuesday the acquisition positioned its crop protection business as a key […] Read more
Study shows how U.S. farm landscapes could be reshaped by climate
Plains' wheat belt would see 'hollowing-out'
London | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Climate change could render swaths of agricultural land largely useless for farming in the U.S. South, and force Midwestern farmers to move corn and soybeans elsewhere as crop yields decline, researchers said on Monday. The profits of growing six key crops are set to fall by almost a third […] Read more
Federal program to protect farms, workers from COVID-19 underway
'Highest-risk' farming operations to get priority, Bibeau says
Applications are now open for a federally-administered $35 million emergency on-farm support fund to help limit the impacts of COVID-19 on farms and on-farm workers. Aimed at farm workplaces and employee living quarters, the fund is being managed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), but cost-shared with participating producers at a 50-50 level. Money is […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
