Reading Time: 2 minutes The trial went well, so the boards of Alberta Barley and the Alberta Wheat Commission have decided to permanently merge the management ranks of the organizations. “The ultimate goal of this exercise is to provide more value to you as producers,” Tom Steve told attendees at Alberta Wheat’s AGM at FarmTech. “We will continue to […] Read more
Wheat and barley groups merge management
The two organizations will have their own boards but are slimming down their administration costs
Plant protein supercluster makes cut for federal funding
Protein Industries Canada says becoming a world leader in using plant protein will create thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Plant protein is joining the ranks of artificial intelligence, big data, advanced manufacturing, and ocean-based energy in the federal government’s plan to drive the Canadian economy in the coming decades. Protein Industries Canada is one of the five ‘supercluster’ proposals selected earlier this month to share $950 million in federal cash over the next five […] Read more
B.C. plans trade challenge of Alberta’s wine ban
The Alberta government’s ban on imports of wine from British Columbia is poised to be the first case challenged under the new interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). The British Columbia government announced Monday it will formally challenge the Alberta ban through the CFTA dispute settlement process. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley on Feb. 6 ordered […] Read more
Province announces funding for ag energy projects
Over the next four years, $81 million will be spent for solar systems, low-pressure irrigation, and energy efficiency upgrades
Reading Time: 2 minutes The details are still being worked out, but federal cash for curbing carbon emissions is beginning to flow. Alberta’s provincial government is directing some of its share of Ottawa’s $1-billion Low Carbon Economy Fund towards the agriculture and agri-food sectors. The province says that over the next four years, $81 million will go towards four […] Read more
Simplot to supersize Portage la Prairie fry plant
U.S. agrifood giant J.R. Simplot plans to bulk up its potato processing footprint in southern Manitoba with a $460 million plant expansion. The company and the provincial government on Wednesday announced construction will begin this spring on a 280,000-square foot expansion at its 180,000-square foot french fry processing plant at Portage la Prairie. The expansion, […] Read more
Early canola promoter Gordon Graham, 89
A memorial is to be held in June in Brandon for a Prairie farmer who helped lead the charge on adoption of rapeseed as a crop, as it morphed into today’s canola. Gordon Graham, who farmed near Newdale, Man., about 75 km north of Brandon, died Wednesday at age 89 in Cochrane, Alta. Graham, an […] Read more
All quarantines lifted in bovine TB probe
The mystery of how six Prairie cattle caught a Mexican strain of bovine tuberculosis (TB) is now expected to remain a mystery indefinitely. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced quarantines have been lifted from all Prairie cattle operations tested during its probe of a bovine TB outbreak beginning in the fall of 2016. […] Read more
Farmers encouraged to make Agriculture Day meme-able
Canada’s farmers are being urged to make closer connections with the country’s non-farming consumers, in both the real world and cyberspace, as Canada’s Agriculture Day nears. Spearheaded by the year-round industry-backed initiative Agriculture More Than Ever, Canada’s Agriculture Day is set this year for Tuesday (Feb. 13). “It’s a time to showcase all of the […] Read more
Market shifts, weather push back Food Freedom Day
Food Freedom Day, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s bellwether of affordability for food in Canada, is a day later in 2018. The CFA on Wednesday announced that by its calculations, a Canadian household of average income has earned enough to pay an entire year’s grocery bill on Friday, Feb. 9. Canadians spent 11 per cent […] Read more
Dairy sector wary of proposed food label policy
Canadian consumers are being asked to weigh in on proposed new front-of-pack warnings for foods high in saturated fats, sugars and sodium, starting this weekend. And while whole milk would get a pass from such a plan, Canada’s dairy farmer organization fears many other dairy products would wind up wearing such warnings, thus “alarming” consumers. […] Read more
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