Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Feb. 6, 2017] – Federal dollars are key to barley and wheat research in Alberta. Fortunately, there are a lot of signs that the Liberal government is willing to continue investing in it. “We’ve been happy with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,” said Jason Lenz, chair of Alberta Barley Commission. The federal government has been […] Read more
Farm groups welcome Ottawa’s research funding pledge
Agriculture Canada is giving positive signs that it will continue to invest in wheat and barley research
Railways asking industry to all pull together
To move the coming big crop efficiently will require better co-operation throughout the supply chain, say railway execs
Reading Time: 3 minutes With memories of the grain-handling chaos of 2014 still fresh and another large Prairie crop looming, the railways are calling for greater collaboration in moving this year’s harvest. “To ensure success during this crop year, the broader supply chain must work together to collectively harness our energy so that the entire Canadian economy can reap […] Read more
Hay! Guess who’s hiring a forage researcher?
New forage research job at Beaverlodge is a pleasant surprise after years of funding cutbacks
Reading Time: 4 minutes The forage industry has been asking for more researchers for a long time and finally, it seems the federal government has listened. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada recently issued a job posting for a forage researcher at its Beaverlodge research farm. It’s a term job — running until 2018 — but a step in the right […] Read more
Lawrence MacAulay sworn in as Canada’s new agriculture minister
Ottawa/Manitoba Co-operator – Only hours after being sworn in by Governor General David Johnston and mere minutes after leaving his first cabinet meeting, Canada’s newly minted Minister of Agriculture paused to speak with reporters gathered on Parliament Hill Nov. 3. “I’m certainly pleased,” said Lawrence MacAulay. “Being a dairy farmer and a seed potato farmer […] Read more
Three things to watch for when reading your grain contract
Two-part contracts, delivery terms, and extended delivery periods can cause problems down the road if you don’t read your grain contract carefully
Reading Time: 3 minutes Do you read your grain contracts from front to back? If so, you’re one of the few who do. A University of Manitoba study found only 17 per cent of Canadian farmers read their whole grain contracts — and that’s a mistake, says a grain industry expert. “For every grain buyer out there, the terms […] Read more
Ottawa funding effort to help farmers grow organic crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa and a group of organic food producers are spending $2.2 million to boost organic production on the Prairies. “While the Canadian organic food market has tripled since 2006 from $1 billion to $3 billion, organic production has not kept pace,” Organic Alberta executive director Becky Lipton said in a press release. “This project will […] Read more
Eyes on election, Tories balance budget with asset sales
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Conservative government, seeking re-election this year, delivered a federal budget Tuesday that promised a slim surplus despite the oil price crash, while offering goodies to seniors and small businesses and boosting security spending. It will mark Canada’s first surplus in eight years, accomplished with the help of the sale of […] Read more
Nova Scotia MP named parliamentary ag secretary
A promotion at the federal Tories’ cabinet table has led to the appointment of a new parliamentary secretary on the agriculture file. Gerald Keddy, MP for the Nova Scotia riding of South Shore-St. Margaret’s since 1997, was named Friday to replace Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux as parliamentary secretary for Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Lemieux, the […] Read more
Federal bill brings Canada one step closer to an end-point royalty system
Bill C-18 amends Plant Breeders’ Rights Act to bring it into compliance with an international seed treaty known as UPOV ’91
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal NDP MPs only delayed the “inevitable” by voting against the Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18) in late November, said an Alberta Barley spokesperson at a recent meeting in Lacombe. “It might slow things down a bit, but nonetheless, we believe that it will be approved by Parliament in early 2015, after which work will […] Read more
Ottawa extends grain order
Minimum amounts will vary throughout the winter
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa’s new order-in-council extends the mandatory minimum weekly grain handle until March 28. But instead of a flat 536,250 tonnes of grain per week for both CN and CP Rail, the amounts vary. Until, Dec. 20, each railway must move 345,000 tonnes per week. That drops to 200,000 tonnes weekly from Dec. 21 to Jan. 3, rises […] Read more
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