Howard Dill, an Annapolis Valley pumpkin breeder known worldwide for his giant pumpkins, died Tuesday of cancer at age 73, according to reports from Nova Scotia media. Dill, a self-taught plant breeder, earned business from competitive giant pumpkin growers and ordinary gardeners from as far away as Thailand and Turkey, CBC said Wednesday. According to […] Read more
N.S. “pumpkin king” Howard Dill, 73
Sask. stock growers name new GM
An articling agrologist with a background in water stewardship is the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association’s new general manager. Chad MacPherson, the former Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards stewardship co-ordinator, was the first source water protection plan co-ordinator in the province, the SSGA said in a release Wednesday. MacPherson replaces consultant Adele Buettner of AgriBiz Communications, […] Read more
Alta. pulse growers name new director
The Alberta Pulse Growers Commission has named a pulse crop researcher as its new executive director. Sheri Strydhorst, who farms with her husband at Neerlandia, 150 km northwest of Edmonton, recently earned her Ph.D. from the University of Alberta and has worked on nitrogen fixation and increasing the use of pulses in Alberta’s cropping systems. […] Read more
Ex-Sask. ag deputy heads north
A former top agriculture bureaucrat in the Saskatchewan government will take up a new deputy minister’s post this summer in the Yukon. Harvey Brooks, who was Saskatchewan’s deputy minister of agriculture until November 2007, will become the Yukon government’s deputy minister of economic development, effective July 17. Brooks “has experience in rural revitalization and cross-departmental […] Read more
Ritz rips draft WTO text over SM goods
While a new draft modalities text for agriculture negotiations at the World Trade Organization has much for Canadian crop and livestock exporters to like, Canada has “serious concerns” over what’s not there. Specifically, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release Tuesday that he’s “particularly disappointed that there has been so little progress in […] Read more
Winds a setback in Man., Sask.
Strong wind last week helped deplete soil moisture in Saskatchewan and took the soil with it in some fields in Manitoba. Saskatchewan’s ag ministry on Tuesday reported that province’s seeding at 56 per cent complete, up from the 2003-07 average of 50 per cent, with southern regions 68 to 70 per cent complete and the […] Read more
Sask. to back shortline rail improvements
The Saskatchewan government will support shortline rail companies’ infrastructure projects with a new program announced Tuesday. The provincial highways and infrastructure department will put up $500,000 this fiscal year to cost-share infrastructure projects 50/50 with eligible shortline companies. Any of Saskatchewan’s eight shortline railways is eligible to apply for funding if it meets criteria, such […] Read more
Diageo to buy Constellation’s Que. distillery
The makers of Black Velvet whisky are selling their Quebec distillery and consolidating their Canadian production in Alberta. New York-based Constellation Spirits announced Tuesday that it will sell its Schenley Distillery and Bottling operation at Valleyfield, southwest of Montreal, to Diageo, another major player in the spirits, beer and wine business worldwide. Terms of the […] Read more
P.E.I. fund to support ag, rural jobs
The Prince Edward Island government has put up $1.25 million over three years to help rural businesses and agencies hire additional staff, including businesses in ag-related processing. The rural jobs initiative, announced Tuesday, is aimed at the creation of jobs in support of innovation, technological adaptation and sustainable diversification, Rural Development Minister Allan Campbell said […] Read more
Que. research eyes veg oil in transformers
The Quebec government will put up $430,000 for research on the use of both vegetable and animal oils as insulators in electrical transformers. The provincial agriculture ministry (MAPAQ) said Friday it will put up $180,000 over two years for related work at Oleotek, a research and technology transfer firm at Thetford Mines. Of that, $120,000 […] Read more
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