The Saskatchewan and federal governments will invest $276,000 in a new agency to develop the province’s biofuel sector. Expanding its mandate beyond ethanol into other farmed fuels, the Saskatchewan Biofuels Development Corp. includes members of the former Saskatchewan Ethanol Development Council and representatives from the biodiesel sector and Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission. The new organization […] Read more
Expanded Sask. biofuel agency gets start-up funds
Biosecurity detector project funded
Probes fitted with high-tech signal generators may be developed to detect food safety and quality problems and air- and waterborne bugs and pathogens if new public investment at the University of Manitoba pans out. The federal/provincial/civic Winnipeg Partnership Agreement will put up $3.2 million for a biological and electrical biosensor lab and a biomedical imaging […] Read more
Smucker buys Carnation milk brand
Nestle has sold its Carnation canned milk brands and business in Canada to the Canadian wing of U.S. jam giant J.M Smucker. The sale includes the Carnation business in Canada, the rights to use the Carnation brand for its evaporated milk, skim milk powder and thick cream products in Canada, and a manufacturing plant at […] Read more
ABIC: Biotech wheat stays on the shelf
Calgary — While biotechnology has made huge gains in corn and soybeans, it has yet to penetrate markets for the world’s two leading food grains, wheat and rice. Until farmers and consumers decide to change their minds, that’s how it’s likely to stay, speakers said at the 2007 Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC 2007) here […] Read more
Report urges cash support for Sask. organic farms
A new report to the Saskatchewan government recommends aggressive support for organic farming with a proposed goal on having 10 per cent of the province’s farmers involved in such production by 2015. The report by Lon Borgeson, the province’s regional economic development minister and legislative secretary on organics, recommends cash support for both organic farmers […] Read more
Alta. lifts cap on wind power
Alberta’s provincial government has removed its limit on the amount of wind power that can be generated provincewide, opening the door to more than double its current wind power capacity by year’s end alone. The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) imposed a temporary cap of 900 megawatts (MW) in 2006 to ensure the overall reliability […] Read more
CN to buy U.S. Steel’s Chicago line
Canadian National Railway (CN) expects to improve its traffic flow at Chicago by buying a local short rail line company from U.S. Steel for US$300 million. Pending approval by U.S. transport regulators, a deal for CN to buy the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway Co. (EJ&E) is expected to close in mid-2008, the two companies […] Read more
Viterra: That’s “VT” to brokers
Stock in Canada’s biggest grain handler will begin trading Friday under the ticker symbol VT on Toronto’s TSX. Viterra, which formed from the June purchase of No. 1 grain handler Agricore United by No. 2 handler Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, adopted the new name at the end of August and will make the formal name change […] Read more
Farmlife editor Bonnie Thompson, 58
Bonnie Thompson, who edited the Farmlife section of Grainews and the Country Crossroads section of the Manitoba Co-operator, died early Tuesday morning of complications from a long bout with cancer. Thompson, 58, was born in southwestern Manitoba and came to the publishing division of Winnipeg-based United Grain Growers in July 1983 as an administrative assistant […] Read more
“May contain traces” is too little warning: CFIA
There may be a crackdown on how packaged foods’ precautionary labels are worded, if food processors choose not to accurately reflect allergy risks in their warnings, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said yesterday. In an advisory to manufacturers and importers, CFIA and Health Canada noted that their policy on these “precautionary statements” is under review. […] Read more
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