Winnipeg grain handling equipment firm Ag Growth says its order backlog remains at “record levels” due to “exceptional” demand for its companies’ products. From the companies that it bought before Jan. 1, 2007, the income trust on Wednesday posted an increase in sales of $9.8 million over the year-earlier period and a gross margin of […] Read more
Ag Growth posts record order backlog
Ontario lays out rules for Greenbelt expansion
A new set of rules will govern any future expansion of southern Ontario’s protected “Greenbelt” zone. The provincial government on Wednesday said these new criteria, drawn up in consultation with the public and municipalities, will be used to assess municipal requests to expand the Greenbelt to cover more forests, wetlands and farmlands. The new criteria […] Read more
P.E.I. farm apprenticeships first in Canada
Farm workers on Prince Edward Island will take part in Canada’s first-ever farm technician apprenticeship program, the provincial and federal governments announced Wednesday. Under the program, farm workers will get a combination of classroom instruction and on-farm experience to qualify as farm technicians under the provincial apprenticeship program. The program is to be developed and […] Read more
Price volatility may affect payment recovery: CGC
Continued volatility in grain prices may lead to farmers not getting paid full value for grain delivered to licensed companies that go out of business, the Canadian Grain Commission warned Wednesday. The warning came along with the CGC’s announcement that 15 farmers who submitted claims against security posted by Alexander Grain will get full compensation. […] Read more
Chicken farmers’ food safety plan moves ahead
A national on-farm food safety program for Canada’s chicken farmers took a step forward Tuesday as all the provinces’ chicken boards signed on for the program’s ongoing implementation. “Under Safe, Safer, Safest, top-notch safety practices and procedures will be found on each Canadian farm,” said Nova Scotia chicken farmer David Fuller, chairman of the Chicken […] Read more
Study of B.C. dairy manure for fertilizer funded
A project to develop a slow-release fertilizer using nutrients recovered from dairy manure waste will get over $200,000 in federal funding. Fraser Valley-area MP Randy Kamp announced $203,500 in funding Wednesday in Agassiz, B.C. for the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Dairy Education and Research Centre and Department of Civil Engineering to create such a […] Read more
Scare helps boost hothouse tomato firm’s Q2
Due in part to greater demand for its greenhouse-grown tomatoes after a salmonella warning imposed on tomatoes this spring, Vancouver hothouse company Village Farms has boosted its second quarter revenues by a third. The income trust on Wednesday posted net earnings of $4 million on $44.1 million in revenue for its Q2 ending June 30, […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: Eat kangaroos, save world
Cutting back on beef and lamb and eating more kangaroo is being touted as a way for meat consumers to help combat climate change, the British ag newspaper Farmers Weekly reported Wednesday. “Sheep and cattle constitute 11 per cent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Kangaroos, however, produce relatively little methane because they are not […] Read more
Federal rail service review rolls ahead
The federal government’s promised review of Canadian rail freight service has taken a step forward with the final terms of reference released and a request for proposals issued for some of the work ahead. “The fact that we are moving forward with this review is good news for shippers of a broad range of commodity […] Read more
Sask., Man. winter wheat harvests underway
Winter wheat and fall rye harvests are underway in much of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to those provinces’ weekly crop reports filed Monday. Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry reports fall rye and winter wheat are six per cent harvested, with pea crops seven per cent harvested and one per cent of lentils off. The winter wheat and […] Read more
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