Funeral services will be held Wednesday at Birch Hills, Sask. for farm equipment inventor, seed grower and long-time Grainews columnist Harvey Gjesdal. Gjesdal, who died Friday at Birch Hills at age 92, was prominent for decades among Prairie farmers, in part for patents on equipment still in widespread use today, including the Gjesdal “Five-in-One” rotary […] Read more
Prairie seed grower and inventor Harvey Gjesdal, 92
Arbitrator sets out labour deal for CN conductors
Updated, June 23, 2014 — Binding terms are now in place for a few years’ labour peace between Canadian National Railway (CN) and its conductors and yardpeople. CN announced Friday it has received, and will “immediately” start carrying out, the decisions made by federally-appointed arbitrator Michel Picher. Picher’s rulings are binding on the company and on […] Read more
New clubroot pathotype confirmed, can stump resistant canolas
A second round of tests on a clubroot pathotype found in the Edmonton area confirms it’s a new type that can beat canola varieties bred for clubroot resistance. “This is a different pathotype that none of the commercially available clubroot-resistant varieties in Western Canada are effective at managing,” plant pathologist Stephen Strelkov of the University […] Read more
Anti-spam rules to weigh on all commercial email
Farmers who market their wares directly to customers by email will need to rethink their efforts come July 1, as new federal anti-spam legislation takes effect. If you’re already on a company or ag association’s email list for newsletters or promotions, you’ve likely had email lately asking you to provide consent to continue to receive […] Read more
EU agrees on plan to cap use of food-based biofuels
Luxembourg | Reuters — EU energy ministers agreed on Friday to limit production of biofuels made from food crops, responding to criticism they stoke inflation and do more environmental harm than good. The ministers’ endorsement of a compromise deal overcomes a stalemate hit late last year, when European Union governments failed to agree on a […] Read more
Pearce: UAV system adds immediacy to crop diagnostics
When Felix Weber brought the Swinglet Cam to market about three years ago, the capability for “reading” a crop’s progress through different imagining cameras was considered revolutionary. Adoption of the technology has been slow, though, with early innovators spreading the message. This year, senseFly, manufacturer of the Swinglet Cam, has introduced the eBee Ag system, […] Read more
Feds’ grain freight legislation goes live
The federal government’s regulatory grip on the levers of Prairie grain freight has officially tightened. Gov. Gen. David Johnston on Thursday granted royal assent to Bill C-30, the government’s Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act, setting new minimum levels for the amount of Prairie grain that must be hauled this summer and allowing shippers to directly claim […] Read more
Free to good home: Farm Progress tickets
EDITOR’S NOTE: Well, that didn’t take long. At a glance, it looks like we have our 80 winners, who will be notified shortly by separate email and can expect their tickets by non-electronic mail in the next few days. To all who entered, many thanks for checking out our websites, and to all who are making […] Read more
Canola Growers file service complaints on CN, CP
The national body for over 43,000 canola producers across Canada is set to bring both of the country’s major railways up before regulators to answer for their grain service in 2013-14. The Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) announced Monday it has filed a level-of-service complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), alleging Canadian National (CN) […] Read more
U.S. Democrats optimistic EPA to reverse course on biofuel cuts
Washington | Reuters — U.S. senators backing the federal biofuel mandate said Wednesday they believe the Obama administration will likely raise proposed targets for 2014 biofuel use when it issues its final rule next month, after protests from renewable fuel producers that planned cuts would devastate the industry. Representing states with strong agricultural interests, the […] Read more
