A well-known and unusually literal brand in Canadian and U.S. agribusiness is set to disappear this summer under the name of its new parent firm. Crop input retail stores and facilities run by Crop Production Services (CPS) — the brand today used across North America by the retail arm of the company formerly known as […] Read more
CPS outlets to take merged parent’s name
Financial industry veteran is new head of AFSC
Agriculture minister says scandal that engulfed the crop insurer won’t happen again
Reading Time: 2 minutes A financial industry veteran is the new CEO of the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation. “This marks the final chapter in what I like to call a new beginning for AFSC,” Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier said in announcing the appointment of Steve Blakely. In June 2016, the crop insurer’s former CEO was suspended with pay after […] Read more
Morriss, Pakosh, Streichs named to ag hall of fame
The Manitoba farmers who developed the rotary separator for combines, the co-founder of Versatile and the long-time editorial director for the website you’re reading are bound for Manitoba’s Agricultural Hall of Fame. The hall of fame on Monday unofficially announced its 2018 group of inductees, ahead of its annual meeting Wednesday in Portage la Prairie […] Read more
Animal science professor Red Williams, 93
Memorial services will be held “at a later date” for renowned Prairie animal science professor Charles “Red” Williams, who died Monday at age 93 leaving a legacy of work in livestock care and ag extension. Williams, born in Regina and raised on farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta, served in the Second World War on the […] Read more
Do more to save farmland, say two new reports
U of A study says hundreds of thousands of acres have been lost while Senate committee calls for help for young farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes A pair of new reports are urging government to do more to save good farmland from being lost to agriculture. And there’s a lot that has been lost already, according to researchers at the University of Alberta. “Analysis of satellite imagery shows that between 1984 and 2013, the amount of land in urban uses in […] Read more
Senate hands back transport bill, with changes
Federal legislation sought by farm groups wanting improvements to rail service for the grain sector is on its way back from the Senate to the House of Commons. Senators on Thursday afternoon passed Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, on third reading — but with several amendments proposed Wednesday by the standing Senate committee on […] Read more
Farm numbers fall but some sectors in Alberta buck trend
Alberta lost six per cent of farms overall, according to the latest census but some sectors see gains
Reading Time: 2 minutes While the overall number of farms in Alberta declined by the same percentage as the national average in the latest census, there were differences by sector, says a provincial research analyst. The 2016 Census of Agriculture found there were just over 193,000 farms in Canada, a six per cent drop. “Alberta had over 40,600 census […] Read more
CFIA seeks ‘fundamental change’ in chicken processing
Canada’s chicken processors have a year to make plant-level changes to cut the risk of salmonella infection from frozen raw breaded chicken goods. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said March 12 it will require processors to identify salmonella as a hazard likely to occur in these products — and to “implement changes in order to […] Read more
Late-summer launch for protein projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute Protein Industries Canada says it will receive up to $153 million in federal funding for its efforts to make Canada a world leader in the development of plant-based proteins. The consortium of more than 120 businesses, farm groups, universities, and other industry players is one of five groups sharing $950 million over five years from […] Read more
New chief acclaimed for national cattle producer group
A former president of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association is the new president of the national cattle producers’ body. David Haywood-Farmer was elected by acclamation as president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association at the group’s annual general meeting last week in Ottawa. Haywood-Farmer, a cow-calf producer at Savona, B.C., about 40 km west of Kamloops, was […] Read more
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