Amendments that would block farmers from splitting one large livestock operation into smaller ones to skirt the local hearing process are back on the table in the Manitoba legislature. The provincial government had sought last spring to close what it describes as a loophole in the Planning Act, but its bill was stopped by the […] Read more
Man. moves again to plug livestock loophole
Cap wells by Oct. 31, B.C. warns
All wells in British Columbia must have a secure cap in place by the end of this month to meet the province’s new ground water protection regulation, the government warned in a bulletin today. And the regulation, which will apply to all existing wells and those under construction, doesn’t allow well owners to get away […] Read more
Ontario reelects ag minister, critics
Election night in Ontario proved to be a good Wednesday night for provincial politicians with a hand in the agriculture or rural portfolios. Voters returned Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals for a second majority government, with the party elected in 71 of 107 ridings according to Elections Ontario at this writing. The Progressive Conservatives, whose leader John […] Read more
Ont. MP named ag secretary in shuffle
Eastern Ontario MP Guy Lauzon has been named to the post of Parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture and agri-food, Gerry Ritz. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement today amid a shuffle of secretary assignments. Parliamentary secretaries are members of Parliament who assist the sitting minister in his or her portfolio. Lauzon is […] Read more
Menu Foods restructures as costs pile up
Toronto pet food maker Menu Foods plans a round of restructuring and cost-cutting to recover from its major product recalls this spring. The company, a major North American producer of “wet” pet foods sold under in-house supermarket and grocery store labels, said today that it’s revised the estimated cost of recalling products made between last […] Read more
N.B. launches “buy local” initiative
New Brunswick’s provincial government will put $210,000 into a new campaign to encourage residents to buy local foods. Agriculture Minister Ron Ouelette today announced the Agri-Food Market Development Program, which will accept funding applications from “agri-food businesses” to help them boost their profiles among consumers within the province. Applications for funds will be accepted under […] Read more
Nufarm to sell Achieve Liquid Gold
Nufarm will take over marketing of Syngenta’s Achieve Liquid Gold herbicide in Western Canada, the companies announced Tuesday. Achieve Liquid Gold is a tank mix of Syngenta’s graminicide Achieve (Group 1) and Bayer CropScience’s Buctril M (Groups 4 and 6). (Nufarm also markets a generic version of Buctril M under the name Mextrol.) The company […] Read more
Sask. expects subpar yields
Below-average yields and average quality are the estimated results of Saskatchewan’s 2007 harvest campaign, which now sits at 94 per cent complete, the provincial ag department reported Wednesday. Harvest progress continues ahead of the curve, overall, compared to the five-year (2002-06) average of 82 per cent, the province reported. Southern regions sit at 99 per […] Read more
N.L. farm minister, critic reelected
Both handlers of the provincial agri-foods file, Newfoundland and Labrador’s natural resources minister Kathy Dunderdale and Liberal critic Yvonne Jones, kept their seats in the house of assembly in Tuesday’s provincial election. Jones was one of just three Liberals to be reelected in the province, as Premier Danny Williams’ Progressive Conservatives won 43 of 47 […] Read more
Sask. program funds two ethanol plants
Saskatchewan’s provincial Biofuels Investment Opportunity (SaskBIO) program will put up $10 million and $2.5 million respectively for ethanol production plants at Tisdale and Unity, Sask. North West Bio-Energy, an offshoot of the North West Terminal high-throughput elevator at Unity, will receive $2.5 million on top of the $5.05 million in federal funds recently announced through […] Read more
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