A Chinese biotech firm is talking with University of Waterloo biologists about collaborating on more farming uses for plant growth-promoting bacteria. Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group, a publicly traded Beijing company, on Tuesday announced it had met with Waterloo biologist Xiao-Dong Huang “to discuss the possibility” of joint research and development work on rhizobacteria, or root-colonizing […] Read more
Research deal sought on Cdn. soil bacteria
Poultry allowed on disinfected Sask. farm
A Saskatchewan poultry farm quarantined for H7N3 avian flu since last September has been given the all-clear to bring new birds to the property. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Monday that all cleaning and disinfection have been completed on the affected farm and all quarantine measures have been removed. CFIA regulations allow quarantines to […] Read more
Hytek seals deal for Springhill Farms
Manitoba hog production company Hytek Ltd. has finalized its deal to buy the Springhill Farms pork packing plant near Neepawa, Man. Hytek, based at La Broquerie, east of Steinbach, first announced the deal in October to buy the facility, about 75 km northeast of Brandon, for an undisclosed sum. Hytek representatives told reporters in October […] Read more
Farmer, financial planner named to Farm Credit board
A mixed farmer from Quebec and an Ontario farm financial planner are the newest appointees to the board of Farm Credit Canada. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Monday named Caroline Belzile of Saint-Elzéar, Que., to a three-year term effective immediately. Belzile has co-owned a beef, hog and grain farm and sugar bush in the […] Read more
JRI to expand Alta. Pioneer elevators
James Richardson International (JRI) will expand storage capacity at two of its Pioneer Grain elevators in Alberta and rail car capacity at a third, the company announced Friday. Pioneer’s facilities at Carseland, Lamont and Stirling “are great agri-centres and our investment in these projects will ensure that they meet their full potential,” JRI president Curt […] Read more
NFU accredited in New Brunswick
The New Brunswick wing of the National Farmers Union has picked up provincial accreditation as a general farm organization. The accreditation, announced Friday, allows farmers who register their operations with the Registrar of Farms to direct their registration fees to the NFU in New Brunswick to fund its operations there. The province recently proclaimed the […] Read more
Alta. to add on-farm power plants to grid
“Micro-generation” projects, in which Albertans generate power for their own needs from biomass, wind and other sources, are welcome to send their surplus power into the provincial grid. The province announced new micro-generation regulations Friday that will allow Alberta residents to generate their own power, and will credit them for any power that they don’t […] Read more
Ag wastes loom large in B.C. bioenergy plan
Biomass from British Columbia’s farms figures prominently in the new bioenergy strategy the provincial government released Thursday. The strategy, which is meant to help the province toward its goal of self-sufficiency in electricity by 2016, will back development of pilot- and demonstration-scale projects with industries and communities in its “key biomass resource areas.” While forests […] Read more
Man. research to develop boomer food
Manitoba’s Food Development Centre and the University of Manitoba will collaborate on finding foods more fit for fiftysomethings. The provincial research centre, based in Portage la Prairie, and the university on Friday announced a research project that will start by arranging consumer focus groups to home in on the food products most commonly consumed by […] Read more
Mayo Clinic pans CPR bid for U.S. railway
The Mayo Clinic, one of the pre-eminent medical centres in the U.S., wants Canadian Pacific Railway to commit to major upgrades before it will accept CPR’s proposed merger with the railway running through its home town. The clinic, in a release Friday, said CPR’s US$1.48 billion cash bid for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad […] Read more
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