European Union governments are trying to raise a planned limit on the use of transport fuels made from food crops, despite warnings that the fuels can harm the environment and push up food prices. Last year in response to such warnings, the European Commission, the EU executive, proposed capping the bloc’s use of crop-based biofuels […] Read more
Governments seek to raise EU cap on food-based biofuels
U of A researchers build a better battery out of eggshells
Quick-charging batteries made from eggshell membranes could also solve a growing problem in Canada’s egg industry
Reading Time: 2 minutes Your morning omelette may hold the solution to your quick-dying smartphone battery. University of Alberta researchers David Mitlin and post-doctoral fellow Zhi Li have developed a fast-charging supercapacitor using eggshell membranes — a plentiful egg industry byproduct. “We sell the liquid egg whites and the yoke to food processors, and we have no use for […] Read moreBorder collies headed for the unemployment line?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia have developed a robotic herder which they say does a better job than humans or dogs. A four-wheeled device nicknamed Robotic Rover has successfully herded dairy cows in tests on the university’s dairy herd. “Removing human judgment from trafficking speed will allow us to ensure that cows […] Read more
Breeding a bigger and better dandelion
Reading Time: < 1 minute Hold on before you fill the sprayer tank next spring — German scientists say they have found a new source of rubber to make tires — dandelions. The German research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and tire manufacturer Continental say they’ve officially started a five-year joint project to commercialize the manufacture of tires from dandelion rubber. The first […] Read more
Fighting fires when the water source is frozen
Reading Time: 3 minutes A grant from DuPont’s FIRE program is helping the Taber Fire Department buy equipment to help them fight fires in situations where access to water is difficult. The volunteer firefighters handle fires and other emergencies over a mainly rural area, as well as the town of Taber. In rural areas, farms may have a dugout […] Read more
Tractor starts after year-long burial in manure pile
Farm operator pled guilty in December last year to a charge of possession of property obtained by crime
Reading Time: 3 minutes For a few days in the summer of 2012 it may have been the most famous tractor in Western Canada, though it would never pull an implement again. But a southern Manitoba equipment dealer who bought the 2009 Case IH Steiger 485 says the unit, long since dismantled for parts, could possibly have been put […] Read moreKubota makes play for Canadian hay tools market
Canadian hay growers in the market for new mowers, rakes or spreaders will see a new player on some dealer lots next year. The Canadian arm of Japanese ag equipment maker Kubota has announced it will launch a new line of Kubota-branded hay tools in Canada in 2014. Norwegian farm equipment manufacturer Kverneland, which Kubota […] Read more
Mississippi River reopens after fuel spill
The upper Mississippi River reopened to vessel traffic near Le Claire, Iowa, late on Tuesday following a day-long closure triggered by a fuel leak from a tow boat that struck an underwater object and sank, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday. The river, which was closed late Monday from mile marker 493 to 501 about […] Read more
Mississippi River still shut after fuel spill
The Mississippi River remained closed to navigation along an eight-mile stretch near Le Claire, Iowa, on Tuesday after a boat containing up to 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel and lube oil struck a submerged object and sank late on Monday, the U.S. Coast Guard said. One northbound towboat with no barges and two southbound towboats […] Read more
CWB takes direct stake in Prairie grain handling
The grain company formerly known as the Canadian Wheat Board has made its first hands-on play in the Prairie grain handling game. Winnipeg-based CWB on Tuesday announced an agreement to buy the grain handling and port terminal assets from the Soumat arm of Toronto’s Upper Lakes Group Inc. (ULGI) for an undisclosed sum. The deal, […] Read more
