Quebec’s director of prosecutions has decided not to pursue criminal charges against the province’s fired agriculture minister over allegations of “acts of a sexual character.” The province’s director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP) announced in a release Monday that the office was “not reasonably convinced” culpability could be proven against the provincial member for […] Read more
No charges against Quebec’s ex-ag minister
Agrium buys polymer maker’s ag chem applications
Fertilizer and ag retail firm Agrium has closed a deal for an Australian polymer maker’s ag chemical business, aiming to put it to work in fertilizer and pesticide application. Calgary-based Agrium said Tuesday it has bought Starpharma Holdings’ agrochemical business for A$35 million (C$35.3 million) via Agrium’s U.S. crop input arm, Loveland Products. The deal […] Read more
Saskatchewan offers provincial pasture leases to patron groups
Cattle producers using provincial pastures heading into the final three years of the Saskatchewan Pastures Program (SPP) will get the first chance at leasing them. The province announced in March it would wind down the SPP, kicking off a public consultation process. Based on those consultations, the province confirmed Thursday it will grant the 50 […] Read more
Bioprocessor coming to Sarnia
Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) has invested in California bio-based products company Origin Materials. Origin Materials will be building its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ont. by late next year. It will be using bio-based feedstocks such as crops and biomass to make new polymers, surfactants and carbon blacks, which are used as fillers and […] Read more
Dow’s Enlist corn cleared for Canada
Corn growers in Canada can begin ordering Dow AgroSciences’ genetically modified Enlist corn later this summer, now that China will allow imports of grain grown from corn with the Enlist trait. Dow Agro announced Wednesday the glyphosate- and 2,4-D-tolerant corn will be commercially available in Canada and the U.S. for use in the 2018 growing […] Read more
PHOTOS: Kids learn a lesson about farm safety and machinery
The look on their faces said it all
Reading Time: < 1 minute Rural youth got an up-close and dramatic demonstration on what happens when clothing snags on a power takeoff shaft. A dummy stuffed with newspapers explodes in a millisecond — drawing gasps from the young onlookers. More than 750 students from rural Alberta attended Farm Safety Day, which is sponsored by AltaLink, at Calgary’s Stampede Park […] Read more
Iogo maker to ramp up drinkable yogurt production
The yogurt-making joint venture of dairy co-ops Agropur and Agrifoods International plans to boost its drinkable yogurt output by adding another production line in Quebec’s Monteregie. Ultima Foods announced last week it will put up $10.8 million of its own funds plus a $3.6 million interest-free loan from Investissement Quebec, the investment arm of the […] Read more
Syngenta exits canola seed business
Canola growers checking out Syngenta Canada’s 2018 seed guide for Western Canada will notice canola by its absence. Syngenta, which entered the Prairie canola seed market in 2013 and by this spring had six hybrid varieties on offer, said in a statement it has “recently taken the decision to exit the canola seed business.” The […] Read more
Coop federee to exit machinery parts distribution
Citing “a period of pronounced decline” in its farm machinery business, Quebec farm co-operative La Coop federee plans to get out of parts distribution by next fall. The co-operative announced May 30 it plans to “gradually” close its Dispro farm equipment and parts distribution centre at Trois-Rivieres over a 12- to 15-month period from September […] Read more
Washouts shut Hudson Bay Railway for shipping season
Flooding and rail bed washouts on sections of northern Manitoba’s Hudson Bay Railway have led the line’s owner to suspend its operations indefinitely. The closure of the portion of the line running from Amery, Man., about 50 km northeast of Gillam, north to Hudson Bay at Churchill, all but ensures no Prairie grain, other than […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
