Ontario farmers fear slow leaks of thousands of dollars each year as the province’s tire stewardship program moves to a cost-recovery model for the recycling fees levied on agricultural and other off-road tires. Ontario Tire Stewardship’s (OTS) executive director Andrew Horsman last month announced changes to the organization’s used tires program would kick in effective […] Read more
Recycling fees pumped into Ont. farm tires
Extra teeth demanded for rail service bill
What they describe as the worst rail service in three years has prompted shippers to propose amendments to toughen the federal government’s proposed Fair Rail Freight Service Act. A coalition of shippers laid out proposals Friday for new amendments to the Act, now proposed in federal Bill C-52, in a bid to help balance their […] Read more
Pearce: Level of on-farm investment favours large Canadian farms
The large keep getting larger, and they keep investing more, as well. That’s the one-sentence summary from a new study from the Ivey School of Business Agri-food Innovation Centre. The study, Investment and Growth on Canadian Farms 2001-2009, has determined that Canadian farms saw total investments increase by more than $3 billion during the height […] Read more
HayEast gets Ont. funding through May
Organizers of the HayEast drive to run feed from Western Canada to ranchers in parched areas of Ontario and Quebec have picked up six-figure provincial support which they say will see the program through to June 1. HayEast 2012, a partnership involving farm organizations across Canada and the Winnipeg-based Mennonite Disaster Service, was set up […] Read more
Cargill cleared to muffle Vancouver grain terminal
Port Metro Vancouver has granted Cargill the go-ahead on a project it hopes will dial down the noise outside the company’s grain terminal on Vancouver’s North Shore. The company said Tuesday it has received its project permits from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) to set up four sound-absorbing barriers on the trackshed rooftops on […] Read more
Spring load limits to slow grain movement on Prairie roads
Spring road bans are starting to be put into place across Western Canada as temperatures warm up in the Prairie provinces. The annual restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads in an effort to reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during the spring thaw period. Movements of grain and farm […] Read more
Alta. farms’ diesel discount cancelled in budget
A "distribution allowance" that gave Alberta’s farmers a six-cent-per-litre break on diesel fuel for farm use is a casualty of Thursday’s provincial budget, effective immediately. Finance Minister Doug Horner’s 2013-14 budget eliminates the farm fuel distribution allowance portion of the province’s Farm Fuel Benefit Program, ending a benefit which cost the province an estimated $32.5 […] Read more
HayEast’s government funding expires
The HayEast drive to get Prairie hay to livestock producers in parched regions of Ontario and Quebec is expected to continue past the expiry of its government funding. "Government funds have expired, but organizers are still assessing how many more farmers we can continue to help before the private donations run out," Mark Wales, president […] Read more
Portable electric fence trailer simplifies managed grazing
Self-contained Electric fence trailer puts energizer, solar panel, posts and wire all in one portable unit
Reading Time: 2 minutes Want to try managed grazing techniques to boost grass productivity, but don’t want to spend a lot of time and money driving posts and stringing wires? Norm Ward, a custom grazer and inventor from Granum, Alta., has come up with a self-contained, portable electric fencing system that makes dividing up quarter section-sized pastures fast and […] Read moreNational grains biosecurity standard launched
A new voluntary standard for biosecurity on Canada’s grain- and oilseed-producing farms is expected to help growers build or improve on their existing farmgate-level systems at any scale. "While some pieces of this may already be common practice, I think many producers will pick up some new tips as well to help prevent the spread […] Read more
