Crops
A Lethbridge businessman is due in court next month to answer to charges that a Taber, Alta.-area farm business was defrauded out of six figures’ worth of hay. The Taber Police Service said Friday it had completed a “lengthy investigation” into allegations of fraud in which hay was obtained “under false pretenses” from a local […] Read more
Arrest made in alleged Alberta hay fraud
Sunflowers off to good start in Manitoba
CNS Canada — Manitoba’s sunflower crop is off to a good start this year, having largely missed out on any damage from adverse weather over the May long weekend. “We had a good early start (to spring seeding) in the eastern part of the province and things went into some nice warm ground,” said Troy […] Read more
Operators upping their game as farmers’ markets proliferate
Some are finding ways to stand out in the crowd while others are getting to know their customers better
Reading Time: 2 minutes Thrive!” was the theme for the 2015 B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets annual conference which attracted more than 100 vendors, farmers, managers and board members to talk about growth, innovation, and building ongoing success in the markets. The conference focused on two areas — strengthening the operation of the market and increasing vendor know-how in […] Read more
Monsanto’s move on Syngenta could mean move away from glyphosate
Reuters — Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, is also known for the popularity of its Roundup herbicide, beloved by farmers and homeowners alike for its speed and deadly assault on tough weeds. But Monsanto’s ongoing efforts to try to take over Swiss ag chem firm Syngenta, a rival whose product portfolio offers an array […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy, corn, wheat tumble as U.S. dollar firms
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grains and oilseeds fell more than one per cent on Friday, with soybeans tumbling to the lowest levels since October in a broad commodities selloff as the dollar rallied against a basket of global currencies. Soybeans, corn and wheat each reversed earlier gains and fell to session lows as the […] Read more
Potato ‘fields’ clarified for cross-border trade
Canadian and U.S. food inspectors have agreed on what they mean by a “field” in any restrictions they place on potato trade on account of potato cyst nematodes. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Tuesday announced new revisions to their Guidelines on Surveillance and Phytosanitary […] Read more
Regulators clear path for Westeel takeover
Federal competition watchdogs have cleared the path for grain handling equipment maker Ag Growth International to close its deal for bin manufacturer Westeel. AGI announced it had completed its deal to buy its fellow Winnipeg-based manufacturing firm for $221.5 million on Wednesday — after announcing the Competition Bureau of Canada would allow the deal on which […] Read more
Canola crush margins deteriorating
CNS Canada — Canadian canola crush margins continue to drift lower and currently find themselves at some of their worst levels in over a year. Declining demand for canola oil, together with the fact that a lack of farmer selling is forcing processors to pay up to bring in canola seed, was behind some of […] Read more
Dawson: Moisture may trigger more Man. crop claims than frost
Excessive moisture in Manitoba from the Victoria Day long weekend might result in more crop insurance claims than frost. “From our perspective the amount of rain and snow that came with this storm is probably as big a concern as the frost itself,” David Van Deynze, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.’s manager of claim services, said […] Read more
Alberta wetlands receive funding for conservation projects
More than 1,300 acres will be conserved or restored thanks to $11.6 million grant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada will receive more than $11.6 million in grant funds for wetland conservation and restoration work to help reduce the impact of flooding and drought in Alberta. The funding comes from the Alberta government’s Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program. Wetlands have the ability to store water and slow the release of water into […] Read more