Reading Time: < 1 minute Kevin Bender’s term as board chair of the Canadian International Grains Institute has ended but Alberta Wheat vice-chair Hannah Konschuh has been elected to the executive as secretary. The organization (which provides market development and technical support for Canadian wheat and other crops) is at a critical juncture as it works on details for a […] Read more
Alberta reps to help chart Cigi course
Agriculture continues to boost Alberta economy
Reading Time: < 1 minute Primary agriculture along with food and beverage manufacturing pumped $8.5 billion into Alberta’s economy in 2018, but was little changed from a year earlier. The GDP for the province’s primary agriculture industry declined 3.3 per cent to $5.2 billion, while food and beverage manufacturing rose 3.3 per cent to $3.4 billion in 2018, said Jean […] Read more
Protein supercluster aims to transform food processing in Western Canada
The region can be a world powerhouse in value-added processing, says head of Protein Industries Canada
Reading Time: 3 minutes Protein Industries Canada has a plan to kickstart the growth of the plant-based protein sector in Western Canada over the next four years, says its CEO. “From a processing perspective, this is a growing industry in Canada — we’ve got 7,000 food processors,” Bill Greuel told attendees at the recent Bridge2Food Plant-Based Food Summit. But […] Read more
SIDE-SWIPED: The stars are not lining up for Alberta farmers
A series of unforeseeable events has suddenly set the stage for a return to the bad old days of the 1980s
Reading Time: 5 minutes A pig disease that’s been around for a century. A new ‘tech cold war’ between Beijing and Washington. A mercurial American president who calls himself “the tariff man.” These are the unlikely set of factors that are threatening to pummel grain markets — and the incomes of Alberta’s grain producers. “I am not looking at […] Read more
Cash advance website revamped
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Wheat Commission has launched a new online platform that it says makes applying for a cash advance simpler and easier. “We pinpointed areas that could be time consuming for applicants and came up with solutions that will speed up the application process,” said Syeda Khurram, Alberta Wheat’s chief financial officer and COO of […] Read more
Cargill touts investment in ‘cultured meat’
Global giant says lab-grown beef will ‘complement’ its meat business
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cargill has bought a share of a company that claims it is “leading the slaughter-free meat revolution for a healthier world.” The Minneapolis company, one of the world’s largest beef processors, says it is investing in Aleph Farms, an Israeli startup that said in December it successfully created steak by using cultured bovine cells. “Aleph […] Read more
Edmonton feed plant changing hands
Reading Time: < 1 minute Federated Co-operatives Limited is “consolidating” its Prairie feed business — closing three of its six facilities, including in Edmonton, and modernizing the three remaining ones, including in Calgary. “The review and decision to close facilities, along with the investments in the business, address unprecedented competitor consolidation and a changing market in the feed sector,” Co-op […] Read more
Japan beef buyers ease back a bit on purchases
Reading Time: < 1 minute After surging in January, beef sales to Japan slipped a little in February as buyers adjust to the new Trans-Pacific trade deal, says the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. An initial tariff cut (to about 27 per cent from 38.5 per cent) in the new year saw beef sales more than triple in January to 3,545 tonnes […] Read more
BMO offers relief for farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute BMO is offering a “financial relief program” for farmers in Western Canada. The program will allow qualifying clients to defer principal payments for a year and temporarily increase their operating loan. The bank is also offering to waive or reduce fees “for applicants impacted by cash flow shortages as a result of the recent price […] Read more
Red-hot land market shows signs of cooling
Prices have soared for nearly a decade but that trend may be coming to an end
Reading Time: 4 minutes The price of Alberta farmland took another big jump last year — but there are strong signs the red-hot bull market is finally cooling off. Overall, Canadian acres saw their smallest price increase in nearly a decade, and the amount of land changing hands dropped as many would-be buyers either stayed on the sidelines or […] Read more
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