Quebec will boost its funding for the federal/provincial Prime-Vert program to include programs that help farmers improve water quality and cut excess greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Quebec program, funded through the recently-extended portion of the federal/provincial Agricultural Policy Framework, promotes best-management practices and supports projects that allow farms to comply with environmental regulations, laws and […] Read more
Funds up for Que. farms’ “green” work
Dry P prices nearly double: KAP survey
The annual spring fertilizer and fuel price survey by Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) shows phosphorous (P) prices up by 75 to nearly 100 per cent since last year. The survey, conducted April 4-21 at dealers across the province and released Monday, also noted “significant” increases in potash, sulfur and nitrogen fertilizers and an increase […] Read more
Campbell to shut Ont. food plant
Campbell Soup Co. says it will close its southern Ontario food plant next year as it sheds several businesses to “enhance long-term profitability.” The 48-year-old facility at Listowel, about 65 km west of Guelph, employs about 500 people making mostly frozen products such as soup, entrees, ramen noodles and Pepperidge Farm-brand products. New Jersey-based Campbell […] Read more
U of Guelph ag funding renewed, raised
The University of Guelph will get a raise for its agri-food and rural research and development through a five-year, $300 million funding agreement with its home province. Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky on Monday announced the funding levels for 2009 to 2013 inclusive, as part of a 10-year agreement that’s subject to annual review and to […] Read more
Alta. Liberals press for farm labour standards
Alberta’s provincial opposition is calling for the province’s labour standards code and job safety legislation to include farm workers. Liberal Leader Kevin Taft on Monday called for the Stelmach government to expand the Employment Standards Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include protections for farm workers and adopt a farm safety program […] Read more
Viterra buys more U.S. feed mills
Canada’s biggest grain company is continuing its expansion into the southern U.S. feed milling industry. Viterra, whose Unifeed Hi-Pro feed division works under the name Hi-Pro Feeds in the U.S., will invest US$24.2 million to buy the feed milling assets of Gore Bros. and Gore’s Trucking. The companies, run by the Gore family of Texas […] Read more
Alta. food firms get help with safety standards
Small and medium-sized food processing companies in Alberta will soon have a simpler path to earn and keep up their food safety accreditation under a new federal/provincial program announced Friday. The provincial agriculture department and the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), an arm of the federal public works department, have inked an agreement under which […] Read more
P.E.I. expands ALUS program provincewide
Prince Edward Island farmers and landowners who take on environmental preservation projects on their land may now be eligible for compensation under a new Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program. P.E.I.’s ALUS will operate on a $750,000 budget in 2008, the province announced Thursday. The concept was hailed by provincial environmental groups and other dignitaries […] Read more
Saskatoon ag marketing firm merges
Ag communications firm Heyday Communications will merge into the operations of The Marketing Den, a fellow Saskatoon ad and design agency, starting May 1. Heyday, whose ag clients have included Novozymes, UAP and Seed Hawk, as operated in Saskatoon since 1996, formed there by Rod Delahey. The Marketing Den, whose clients include Saskatchewan Crop Insurance […] Read more
Ontario U-pick’s web site honoured
A southern Ontario U-pick fruit operation has earned a North American award for its web site. Whittamore’s Farm, which bills itself as one of the largest U-pick and farm market operations in Ontario, earned the “Members’ Choice” award for outstanding web site, during the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association convention in February in Wisconsin. […] Read more
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