Canada’s 14th mad cow found in Alta.

A six-year-old beef cow from an Alberta farm is Canada’s 14th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Friday. CFIA said in a release that this latest case shouldn’t affect exports of Canadian cattle or beef, though the cow was born well after Ottawa imposed its 1997 ban on the […] Read more

Amendments end KVD on wheat imports

The federal government has changed its Seeds Regulations to take the kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) requirements off imports of wheat seed into Western Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Friday that the amendments were published in the Aug. 6 Canada Gazette, Part II. The amendments repeal the KVD requirements for wheat imported into […] Read more


N.S., P.E.I. ag income at “rock bottom”: report

A new study on farm economic viability in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island finds the two provinces’ farmers “now earning less than at any time in the last four decades.” That, in turn, leaves the provinces’ rural communities at serious risk, according to the report released Friday by GPI Atlantic, a non-profit think tank […] Read more

Deere to expand Regina parts centre

Deere and Co. plans to boost the capacities of its parts depots in Regina as well as in three U.S. locations, making Regina a regional parts centre for the machinery firm. The company said in a release Friday that it plans to expand its primary parts distribution centre at Milan, Ill., west of Chicago near […] Read more


Clock ticking on Chicago rail deal: CN

Canadian National Railway (CN) wants U.S. rail regulators to approve its proposed takeover of a Chicago-area shortline, then hold the environmental review later, to keep the deal from dying. CN on Friday said it has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) to take a “new approach” to CN’s proposal to buy the Elgin, Joliet […] Read more

Ag tires rolled into Ont. recycling plan

A new program expected to recycle at least 90 per cent of Ontario’s used tires by its fifth year of operation will include farm and off-road tires. The Ontario government on Thursday announced it has asked Waste Diversion Ontario, a non-Crown corporation set up by the province in 2002 to run waste diversion programs, to […] Read more


Wheat Growers defend Alta. CWB report

The Canadian Wheat Board’s critique last week of a recent study of its performance in world wheat and barley markets has come under fire in a review of its review. The study, prepared by Informa Economics for the pro-deregulation Alberta government and released late last month, claimed Prairie farmers would receive substantially higher returns for […] Read more

Sask. farmers post thousands more hail claims

An unusually heavy year for crop hail claims in Saskatchewan got heavier in the past two weeks with 5,000 more claims filed, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association. About 15,500 claims have now been filed with hail insurers that do business in Saskatchewan, the Prairie hail insurers’ group said Thursday in its biweekly report. […] Read more


Cancer conference to focus on pesticides

Agricultural pesticides will be under the microscope at a conference to be hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society Nov. 12 and 13 in Toronto. “Exploring the Connection — A State of the Science Conference on Pesticides and Cancer” will feature speakers from around the world who have expertise in assessing pesticide exposure and cancer risk […] Read more

Menu Foods pulls profit in Q2

Beleaguered Toronto pet food maker Menu Foods has earned a quarterly profit for the first time since late 2006, the company reported Wednesday. The income trust posted a profit of $735,000 on $60.3 million in sales for its second quarter ending June 30, up from a $3.6 million loss on $47.2 million in sales in […] Read more