Meat eater study extends up value chain

A study of Canadian consumers’ meat buying habits and preferences will now extend further up the meat value chain, the George Morris Centre announced Monday. The Guelph-based ag think tank’s study, Consumer data for farmers and the agri-food industry, recently wrapped up 12 months of researching purchasing behaviours and drivers of 7,700 consumers of pork, […] Read more

B.C. farms keep “farm” tax status for 2009

Any major moves to reclassify what constitutes a “farm” in British Columbia for municipal tax purposes will now wait until the 2010 tax year. The provincial government will accept that interim recommendation as one of three from its farm assessment review panel, which plans to hold hearings in coming months to discuss that issue. Specifically, […] Read more


Sask., Man. crops need warmer weather

While fields in central and southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba got some timely rain last week, farmers across both provinces are generally waiting for warmer temperatures to improve crop development. Saskatchewan Agriculture on Monday reported rainfall ranging from just seven millimetres in the province’s northwest to 75 mm in its dry southwest. Over 60 per […] Read more

Viterra’s AgPro staff vote to take deal

Unionized workers at the former AgPro Grain elevators in Alberta and Manitoba have voted in favour of owner Viterra’s offer on a new contract, the company reported Monday. Of the workers who voted, 85.5 per cent voted to accept Viterra’s offer of a five-year agreement, the company said in a release. The Grain Services Union […] Read more


Farm water program topped up for SW Sask.

Saskatchewan’s farm and ranch water infrastructure program (FRWIP) will get up to an extra $9 million in federal cash to support projects in the province’s dry southwest. On top of the province’s $6 million in FRWIP funding, the extra cash, to be delivered through the federal/provincial AgriRecovery program, brings total FRWIP funds to $15 million. […] Read more

Ottawa backs plan to highlight Canadian pork

A voluntary program for Canadian processors and retailers to identify Canadian-grown pork on store shelves will get $1.39 million in federal funding. Southern Ontario MP Gary Schellenberger made the announcement late Friday, saying the project “will provide Canadian families with the information they want to choose home-grown Canadian pork.” The voluntary program will be available […] Read more


CWB to send Pool A barley final payment

Pool A feed barley delivered to the Canadian Wheat Board in the 2007-08 crop year will earn a final payment of $50.78 per tonne, effective June 12, the CWB announced Friday. Payments will be direct-deposited June 24 or mailed on June 27, the CWB said. Farmers have until June 18 to defer the payment if […] Read more

Ont. soybean planting completed: OMAFRA

Emergence has been good in most Ontario soybean fields after planting wrapped up in the first week of the month, Ontario’s ag ministry reported Thursday. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in its June 12 crop report noted “some crusting concerns from heavy rains” in a few soybean-producing areas. “If you […] Read more


Lethbridge firm to deliver CASS in Alta.

Execuserv Plus, a Lethbridge management consulting firm, has signed on to deliver the Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) program to farmers in southern Alberta. The company’s contract runs until March 31, 2009, when the five-year federal/provincial Agricultural Policy Framework officially ends, the province said Friday. The APF, which funded CASS, was extended in November to […] Read more

CWB forecasts below-average wheat crop

Recent rain alone won’t offset two to three years of dry conditions across much of the Prairies, which will be partly responsible for a below-average wheat and durum harvest in 2008, the Canadian Wheat Board forecast Thursday. The board’s preliminary crop forecasts project a 2008 Prairie wheat and durum crop of 21.2 million tonnes, up […] Read more