Reading Time: < 1 minute Rural community groups can now apply for funding from Farm Credit Canada’s AgriSpirit Fund. The fund gives grants of $5,000 to $25,000 to registered charities and non-profit organizations in rural Canada for community improvement initiatives. In the past grants have been given for purchasing equipment for emergency services and recreation centres to building care homes […] Read more
Deadline for AgriSpirit Fund approaching
Ad Feature: Centrallia puts opportunities on horizon for Plains region
Rock Nelson is a fifth generation South Dakotan — and South Dakota is a few thousand kilometres from Winnipeg, Manitoba and in a different country — but he is an admirer of the entrepreneurial spirit that drives the province, which he thinks is embodied by the World Trade Centre Winnipeg. That may be because his […] Read more
Premium Brands buys meat supplier C+C
Montreal meat distributor and processor C+C Packing is set to become a new eastern arm for Vancouver food firm Premium Brands. Premium Brands last Tuesday announced a $146 million cash-and-stock deal to buy C+C and its in-house processing arm Premier Meat Packers. The company supplies fresh and frozen meats to grocery chains, the hotel and […] Read more
Celebrating food — and gaining a marketing edge
The story of an Australian oyster producer has lessons for any farmer who appreciates creative thinking
Reading Time: 3 minutes My friend Ewan McAsh is an oyster farmer on the Clyde River in New South Wales, Australia. He is a fellow Nuffield Scholar and was a travel mate of mine through Australia, Holland, U.K., India, and Qatar. A young man with vision, he was named in 2015 as a finalist for NSW farmer of the […] Read more
CETA a household word on Canadian farms, in Europe not so much
Trade deal is a ‘non-story’ on the other side of the Atlantic
Reading Time: 2 minutes The man on the other end of the phone is confused. “I have not heard of this before,” Marek Nowak says slowly. “I am of no help for this.” He’s been asked about the impact the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement — commonly called CETA — might have on Polish dairy farmers such as himself. […] Read more
Mexico clears Canadian poultry meat for import
Duck and other poultry from Canada may again be exported to Mexico, for the first time since 2004. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday announced Mexico had reopened its border to fresh poultry meat including chicken, turkey and, “most significant in terms of historical trade,” duck. Mexico had […] Read more
Mastitis preventive gets joint Canada/U.S. approval
A new drug to help limit mastitis in dairy cows — and keep a lid on the use of antimicrobials to treat it — has picked up joint approval from Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The two agencies on Thursday announced “simultaneous” approvals for Elanco Animal Health’s injectable drug pegbovigrastim, to […] Read more
Pesticide collection program a success again
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta farmers returned 70,737 kilograms of obsolete and unwanted pesticides and 2,162 kilograms of livestock and equine medications during CleanFARMS’ obsolete collection campaign last fall. The program, which took place at 20 participating ag-retail locations in southern Alberta in October, was the third CleanFARMS collection in the province, but the first to accept both pesticides […] Read more
Alberta to launch malt barley insurance
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 Veterinary Medical Association award winners
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dr. Jennifer Willans is the recipient of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association’s Meritorious Service Award. This award is presented to an association member who has demonstrated outstanding service to the organization. Service may be over the past year or several years. Dr. Alastair Cribb is the recipient of this year’s Veterinarian of the Year Award. […] Read more
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