Saskatchewan farmers are slightly behind their five-year average in terms of seeding progress, while many Manitoba farmers are back on the fields after a cold spell the previous week. Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry reports four per cent of the 2008 crop in the ground as of May 4, up from one per cent the previous week […] Read more
Man., Sask. seeding resume
Cold snap hammers Okanagan orchards: report
Fruit growers in British Columbia’s Okanagan are reporting substantial damage to their orchards this spring due to unseasonably cold weather and a recent hard freeze, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. Joe Sardinha, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, told the Globe’s Cathryn Atkinson that despite the damage, he did not expect the cost […] Read more
Feed maker Ridley up for sale
Feed manufacturer Ridley Inc. says it’s reviewing options now that its Australian parent aims to sell its majority stake. Ridley Corp., the Sydney, Australia feed and salt company that owns a 69 per cent controlling interest in TSX-traded Ridley Inc., has told the firm’s board that it wants to sell, “subject to receiving satisfactory offers,” […] Read more
Fungicide approval opens U.S. to treated oats
Canadian oat growers who use Headline fungicide to treat their crops may ship oats south now that U.S. regulators have also approved the product’s use on oats. BASF Canada, which makes Headline, announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently approved Headline’s use on oats. BASF had picked up registration for the […] Read more
Que. to plot farm animal health strategy
Quebec’s provincial government will set up a working group to draft a strategy for animal health and welfare, and will also renew its rural veterinary service program. The province on Tuesday pledged $2.5 million over five years for the development of a strategy focused on monitoring and prevention and bringing the province’s livestock operations into […] Read more
Sheep farmers launch bluetongue insurance
The Canadian Sheep Federation and federal government have rolled out a new insurance program for sheep farmers to better manage risk in case of an outbreak of bluetongue. The CSF said its bluetongue insurance program, officially rolled out Monday, can provide Canada’s 11,000-plus sheep farmers with “affordable” coverage for losses due to bluetongue, an insect-borne […] Read more
Canada tables European free trade deal
A trade deal that would eventually end or cut tariffs on several Canadian crops and foods in four European countries has been tabled in the House of Commons. Canada and the European Free Trade Association countries — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — signed their free trade agreement (FTA) in January, and legislation introduced Monday […] Read more
Cross-border seed potato standards reworked
Alberta seed potatoes, possibly including some of the 2007 crop, may be allowed to travel south under new guidelines for seed potato trade between Canada and the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Monday announced “modified” guidelines to allow for continued potato trade in the event of […] Read more
Alta. can’t produce lowest-cost pork: report
Alberta can’t, nor should it, try to win a race to the bottom as a low-cost pork supplier, the provincial hog farmers’ board proposes in a new report on the state of the industry. Alberta Pork on Monday released a report, titled The Way Forward, as a discussion document on the current state of the […] Read more
Agrium takes over UAP
Fertilizer firm Agrium’s friendly takeover of U.S. ag retailer UAP is nearly complete, with nearly all UAP shares tendered to the Calgary company’s offer. As of its deadline last Friday, about 98.5 per cent of UAP’s outstanding shares had been tendered to Agrium’s $39 per share offer and not withdrawn, the company said in a […] Read more
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