Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien said Monday it would boost its 2021 potash output by 500,000 tonnes, after the European Union and others imposed new trade sanctions on Belarus. Nutrien’s increase takes its potash sales outlook this year to a record-high range of 13.3 million to 13.8 million tonnes, and follows a […] Read more
Nutrien to further bump up potash output
'Continued tightening' in market cited as potash producer Belarus sanctioned
Federal reprieve for imidacloprid cuts its application rates
Proposal for near-total ban rejected in Health Canada's final decision
A member of the neonicotinoid family of insesticides and seed treatments has been pulled back from the brink of an all-out ban in Health Canada’s final re-evaluation ruling. Most agricultural uses of imidacloprid — sold by Bayer under brands such as Gaucho, Merit and Admire, and by Adama under brands such as Alias and Sombrero […] Read more
Ex-GFO CEO to manage Seeds Canada
Barry Senft to help build up merged seed-industry group
The four Canadian seed industry organizations now operating as Seeds Canada have named their first organizer-in-chief. Barry Senft, whose resume in Canadian agriculture includes stints as CEO for Grain Farmers of Ontario, executive director for the Canadian International Grains Institute, chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission and second vice-president for Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, becomes […] Read more
Burger King rolls out plant-based Impossible Burger in Canada
Nationwide launch of soy- and potato-based burger set for mid-April
The Canadian arm of quick-service chain Burger King has made its move into the Canadian plant-based burger market, working with U.S. processor Impossible Foods. Burger King, a U.S.-headquartered brand of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International (RBI) since 2014, said Monday it becomes “the first quick-service restaurant in Canada to put the award-winning, plant-based Impossible Foods patty […] Read more
Alberta crop insurer taps reserve to cut premiums
AFSC to pare premiums by 20 per cent
The reserve at Alberta’s Crown crop insurance agency will be tapped to offset the premiums charged to farmers for the 2021 crop year, and possibly for longer. The province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) said Monday its farmer customers will get a 20 per cent discount on crop insurance premiums this year — which on […] Read more
Schoepp: The plight of the banana has implications for all of agriculture
Overreliance on chemical control has brought this hugely important global crop to a crisis point
Reading Time: 3 minutes Regardless of the season there are some foods that are always available and one of them is the banana. It’s an interesting fruit because of the dominance it has in terms of trade and its unique characteristic of being a non-seed-bearing clone. Most bananas come from Ecuador, Philippines, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and another 125 […] Read more
Grain groups post new videos
Chops and Crops along with Alberta Barley’s AGM available on YouTube
Reading Time: < 1 minute With in-person conferences cancelled, Alberta’s wheat and barley commissions have posted several new videos on their YouTube channel. One is a virtual version of the annual ‘Chops and Crops’ roundtable, in which reps from nine commodity commissions (canola, wheat, barley, pulses, potatoes, oats, sugar beet, pork and beekeepers) discuss policy issues with Agriculture Minister Devin […] Read more
COVID-19 pandemic produces a bumper crop of novice gardeners
Whether it was growing their own food or beautifying the yard, gardening was hot in 2020
Reading Time: 4 minutes Greenhouses, garden centres and nurseries experienced a year like no other in 2020 as first-time gardeners took up trowels and hoes in unprecedented numbers. “Even if people had never planted before, they wanted to grow a garden,” said Tammy Meinecke, manager of Dunvegan Gardens in Grande Prairie. “Everybody was out planting seeds and trying to […] Read more
Would you eat a poutine in a pie this holiday season?
The Conversation – I recently saw a culinary invention that made me think about “tourtine.” The dish, as its name suggests, is a hybrid of tourtière and poutine. Poutine cheese curds and sauce are added to the tourtière’s pie filling, along with festive ingredients such as shredded meat and the inevitable foie gras. The tourtine […] Read more
Bibeau says government committed to federal plant breeding
Seed royalty consultations stalled
The Canadian government is committed to plant breeding, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau told members of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation on Tuesday. Some farmers and seed industry officials suspect Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) variety development work, along with many other programs, will be on the chopping block post-COVID-19 as the government tackles its […] Read more
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