The passage of the U.S. government’s US$290 billion farm bill guarantees not only more subsidies for wealthy U.S. farmers, but tax breaks and grants for U.S. ag input retailers that their Canadian competitors can’t match, two Canadian groups said Friday. The Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) and the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) warn that […] Read more
U.S. farm bill irks Canadian ag retailers
Alta. to skew BSE surveillance younger
Younger Alberta cattle at high risk for BSE will be the new focus of the federal/provincial surveillance program for the disease. Starting July 1, the Canada-Alberta BSE surveillance program, run by Alberta’s agriculture department and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, will shift its focus to testing younger cattle for which critical disease history and diagnoses […] Read more
B.C. extends organic extension funding
British Columbia farmers will have an organic extension agent for at least another two years under extended funding announced Wednesday. The provincial ag and lands ministry, which provided $100,000 last year for the Certified Organic Associations of B.C. (COABC) to offer farmers an organic extension agent (OEA), has now committed $225,000 over two years to […] Read more
Monsanto to market Rovral on Prairies
Monsanto Canada will sell Bayer’s canola fungicide Rovral Rx on the Prairies under a supply agreement the two companies signed this week. Rovral, a Group 2 (Iprodione) foliar fungicide, is used on the Prairies to protect against sclerotinia in canola and alfalfa seed crops. Bayer CropScience markets it on the Prairies under the name Rovral […] Read more
Alta. drafts new land-use policy framework
New ways to stem the loss of Alberta’s farmland against “fragmentation” by other uses are among goals of a draft land-use framework the province unveiled Wednesday. The framework is meant to give the province “a strategic blueprint for all levels of government and Albertans as we make decisions today about the province we want in […] Read more
New “Made in Canada” rules up for comment
The federal government has drafted a discussion paper on its proposed new rules for the labeling of food as “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada.” The new rules, released on Wednesday for public comment, “are designed to redefine Canadian food content labels to better reflect the true origins of products in today’s global marketplace,” […] Read more
Viterra to boost two elevators’ rail spots
Viterra has announced plans to expand the rail car loading capability at two of its Prairie elevators to 112 cars each. Canada’s largest grain handling company on Wednesday announced it will put a total of $3.7 million into the two capital projects, both of which are sited on Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) track. The company’s […] Read more
Masterfeeds to buy Land O’Lakes Ont. business
Animal feed company Masterfeeds has signed a deal to buy the Ontario feed business of Land O’Lakes Canada and two Growmark feed mills. Masterfeeds, which is based in London, Ont. and runs 13 feed plants in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec, expects to close this deal by June 2. Land O’Lakes Canada (LOLC) was formed […] Read more
WTO text made worse: Canada’s SM5
Canada’s supply-managed commodity groups say a new draft modalities text aimed at a global trade deal on agriculture is worse for their sectors than earlier versions. A group representing Canadian ag exporters, however, has praised the text as closing several gaps and building on consensus reached in world trade talks in recent months. Crawford Falconer, […] Read more
ICE feed wheat contracts end Wed. night
The former Winnipeg Commodity Exchange will remove its December 2008 and later feed wheat contracts from trading, starting Wednesday evening. ICE Futures Canada, as the WCE has been known since January , announced its decision Tuesday in a notice to exchange participants. The removal of December 2008 and subsequent contracts will take effect on ICE’s […] Read more
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