(Save-A-Lot.com)

Canada’s Onex to buy U.S. grocery chain Save-A-Lot

Reuters — Food retailer and wholesaler Supervalu Inc. said it will sell its Save-A-Lot business to Canadian private equity firm Onex Corp. for US$1.37 billion rather than spinning off the discount grocery chain as previously planned, the companies said on Monday. Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Supervalu had been looking to separate the more profitable division, which […] Read more

Wolves in Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert National Park in 2014. (Parks Canada photo, pc.gc.ca)

Saskatchewan to thin out wolf pack along treeline

Aiming to prevent “wolf-livestock conflicts” in the region, Saskatchewan’s environment department will again offer a wolf hunting season along the provincial forest fringe starting Saturday. The wolf hunt, running from Oct. 15, 2016 through to March 31, 2017, is to be allowed in wildlife management zones 43 (Melfort, Tisdale), 47 (North Battleford, Turtleford), 48 (Preeceville, […] Read more


Lorne Babiuk is the first Canadian to be named a World Agriculture Prize Laureate.

U of A researcher first Canadian to win major international award

Lorne Babiuk, vice-president of research at University of Alberta, has helped develop six vaccines and made major contributions to animal health

Reading Time: 2 minutes He’s helped pioneer the development of vaccines used by livestock producers worldwide, and now he’s the first Canadian to be named a World Agriculture Prize Laureate. Lorne Babiuk, world-renowned virologist and vice-president of research at the University of Alberta, was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of his lifetime achievement. “Vaccines, whether for producers or […] Read more

Province ups feeder loan guarantee fund

Province ups feeder loan guarantee fund

Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial government is increasing its loan guarantee fund to $100 million (from $55 million previously) for cattle and sheep producers buying and feeding livestock for market. The Feeder Association Loan Guarantee Program supports local, producer-run co-operatives in obtaining competitive financing. Feeder association members use the guarantee to secure capital from lending institutions to buy […] Read more


Although livestock clubs remain the foundation of 4-H, there are now 35 projects that members can undertake.

For 4-H Alberta, the past 100 years have flown by

Reading Time: 3 minutes When W.J. Elliott arrived in Alberta to become the first president of Olds College, he quickly decided he needed to enlist supporters for his bid to modernize agriculture in the province. So he started Alberta’s first 4-H club — the Olds Junior Pig Club. “He had noticed that there were some poor livestock genetics in […] Read more

4-H Canada launches new online club for alumni

Reading Time: < 1 minute 4-H Canada has launched a new alumni program called 4-H’s Club 1913. 4-H Canada is encouraging its 350,000 alumni to register at Club1913.ca — an online hub for those interested in reconnecting and networking with other alumni, and finding unique opportunities at the local and national level, while celebrating their pride in being part of […] Read more


AgriProfit$ offers Alberta producers benchmark data from their soil zone.

Want to know how you stack up?

The latest edition of AgriProfit$ offers performance benchmarks for both crops and livestock

Reading Time: 2 minutes The latest version of AgriProfit$ crop and forages benchmarks is now available. “These averages are calculated from the individual producer’s data collected for the 2015 growing season through the AgriProfit$ program,” said crops economist Rawlin Thangaraj. This benchmark gives a good handle on the producers’ actual costs, revenues, and margins by soil zones for different […] Read more

Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), led by the country’s economy minister Sigmar Gabriel, shown here in March, have voted at their congress to approve a Canada-E.U. trade pact. (Susanne Eriksson photo, BMWI.de)

Germany’s Gabriel gets green light to support CETA

Wolfsburg, Germany | Reuters — Germany appeared set on Monday to back an ambitious trade accord between the European Union and Canada after the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partner in the ruling coalition, overcame left-wing resistance to the deal within his party. The SPD decision paves the way for EU member states […] Read more


A view from a promotional video for Z Tags’ Z2 product line. Sources tell Reuters that Z Tags’ Swiss parent, Datamars, is being prepared for sale. (ZTags.com)

Z Tags owner Datamars reportedly up for sale

Frankfurt | Reuters — Buyout group Columna Capital is preparing its Swiss animal tagging group Datamars for a sale in a potential deal that could be worth as much as over 300 million Swiss francs (C$404 million), two people close to the deal said. The private equity investor has asked investment advisory boutique Evercore to […] Read more