A Quebec horticulture company plans to use a small provincial boost to bring ornamental moss to the Canadian market. Megantic-Compton MNA Johanne Gonthier on Tuesday announced cash aid of $24,000 to Bryophyta Technologies of Lambton, northeast of Sherbrooke, for market development for moss products to be sold in mat form. The company will combine moss […] Read more
Quebec funds ornamental moss producer
Pioneer to sell canola via DuPont dealers
Independent and co-op retailers who sell DuPont Canada’s ag chemicals in Western Canada can add some exclusive Pioneer Hi-Bred canolas to their product lines starting this fall. Pioneer Hi-Bred, which is owned by DuPont, announced the new agreement with its parent’s Canadian wing Tuesday, saying it has more new canolas in its pipeline than its […] Read more
Smucker buys Europe’s Best
Montreal frozen-fruit company Europe’s Best has reached a deal to sell itself to U.S. jam giant J.M. Smucker. Smucker, the Ohio-based owner of well-known U.S. brands such as Crisco and Pillsbury, has expanded into Canada in recent years by buying brands such as Robin Hood, Bick’s, Carnation and Five Roses. Terms of the deal weren’t […] Read more
Alta. ag minister, critic re-elected
Alberta Agriculture Minister George Groeneveld kept his seat by a wide margin in the Progressive Conservatives’ first election under Premier Ed Stelmach. Stelmach, a former agriculture minister in the Ralph Klein government, led his party to capture 72 of 83 seats in Monday’s election, up from 60 when the election was called Feb. 4. Groeneveld, […] Read more
Manitoba closes gate into “hog alley”
Manitoba’s provincial government has indefinitely extended a moratorium on new or expanded hog operations in the province’s main livestock corridor and points north. The decision, which drew immediate criticism from the province’s hog producers’ group, follows the long-awaited release Monday of the provincial Clean Environment Commission’s (CEC) report on the environmental sustainability of Manitoba’s hog […] Read more
Family choice trumps price among meats: study
Early data from an ongoing consumer purchasing study shows meat purchases to be driven most often by whether the entire family will like the product chosen. The data, outlined briefly Monday in a joint release from Canada’s pork, lamb, veal and chicken producers’ groups, showed that while “price” and “value for money” are important in […] Read more
CN to challenge grain revenue cap
Canadian National Railway (CN) plans to go to court to try to appeal a substantial cut in the cap on railways’ grain handling revenue for 2007-08. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which caps the amount of revenue CN and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) can keep from handling Prairie grain, on Feb. 19 announced a reduction […] Read more
Tories’ bill bids to re-open CWB Act
The federal government has brought forward a bill that, if passed, could restore Ottawa’s hand at the levers of Canadian Wheat Board marketing policy. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Monday introduced an end-run around the Canadian Wheat Board Act’s much-discussed section 47.1 — the section that currently blocks Ritz from adding or removing Prairie wheat […] Read more
Barley legislation on tap next week: Ritz
Amendments to the federal Canadian Wheat Board Act and related statutes to deregulate Prairie barley marketing will be introduced in the House of Commons “early next week,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Friday. “This bill will deliver on our Throne Speech commitment and will bring barley marketing freedom to the strong and growing majority of […] Read more
Que., N.S. orchards get renovation funds
Orchard and vineyard owners in Quebec and Nova Scotia will get federal funding to pull outdated trees and vines in favour of new varieties. The federal government on Friday announced $5.6 million on top of the Quebec government’s $12 million toward an orchards and vineyards transition program in that province. Ottawa will put up $2.3 […] Read more
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