Saskatchewan farmers have beaten Ottawa’s expectations for the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) program by almost 40 per cent so far. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Mark Wartman, his provincial counterpart, said yesterday in Regina that 9,000 Saskatchewan farms have completed EFPs in the past two years, well past the program’s provincial goal of 6,500 […] Read more
Sask. beats feds’ target for EFP uptake
Man. loans for small-scale energy projects
Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. will now offer loans for Manitobans to develop small-scale ethanol, biodiesel or wind power projects. The province’s new alternate energy loans program, announced Thursday by Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk, will loan up to $525,000 per individual or $1.05 million per corporation or partnership for terms up to 25 years, for qualifying […] Read more
Retail promotions tout Prairie wheat
In a bid to build the brand of Prairie wheat at home, the Canadian Wheat Board and Robin Hood flour have launched what the CWB calls its first major national foray into co-branding. The promotion will include a wheat quality message and label (“Canadian wheat makes it good” with the CWB logo set in a […] Read more
Manitoba fertilizer prices higher than U.S.: KAP
Manitoba farmers buying fertilizer in their home province this spring paid 33 per cent more on average compared to their counterparts across the border in North Dakota, according to Keystone Agricultural Producers. The Manitoba farmers’ group commissioned a PricewaterhouseCoopers study on Manitoba and North Dakota fertilizer prices, which will form the basis of KAP’s request […] Read more
Maple Leaf deal brings ham jobs: UFCW
A new contract for workers at a Maple Leaf plant in Winnipeg will mean the shifting of 550 jobs to a new ham boning line there, according to the workers’ union. Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 832 working at Maple Leaf’s Lagimodiere Boulevard meat processing plant in the St. Boniface […] Read more
Air out canola to ward off spoilage: CCC
Canola growers who face variable weather during this year’s harvest will want to condition their canola by moving air through the stored crop to prevent spoilage, the Canola Council of Canada recommends. In a release today, council specialist David Vanthuyne said spoilage could result from moisture migration and seed respiration in the bin, unless the […] Read more
Global standards wanted after China blocks pork
A ban imposed by the Chinese government on imports of pork from a number of Canadian and U.S. packers shows the need for international standards for approval of animal health and nutrition products, according to the Canadian Meat Council. Speaking on Farmscape, a pork industry-sponsored news service, CMC executive director Jim Laws said it’s not […] Read more
OAC alumni plan new endowment
The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) Alumni Foundation has launched a $1.25 million endowment campaign to mark the 125th anniversary of the college’s two-year diploma program. OAC currently has about 800 students at four University of Guelph campuses. The campaigners plan to call on over 5,000 OAC diploma grads now living in Canada, and will also […] Read more
Sask. grain cars land modeling deal
The Saskatchewan government’s made-over fleet of hopper rail cars may soon appear in model train displays across North America after the province signed a deal with a B.C. model train company. A subsidiary of Surrey, B.C.-based Pacific Western Rail Systems has bought exclusive rights to make and sell models of the repainted and refurbished cars, […] Read more
Weather slows Alberta harvest
Rainfall last week continued to dampen harvest operations in much of Alberta, although “significant” progress has been made overall, Alberta Agriculture and Food said yesterday in its crop conditions report for the week ending Sept. 13. Harvest remains behind the curve at 38 per cent complete, compared to 45 per cent at this time in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
