Reading Time: < 1 minute The number of Prairie organic farms and their acreage continues to increase, says the Canada Organic Trade Association. The latest report, the fifth annual, puts the number of certified organic operations on the Prairies at 1,975 in 2018 (compared to 1,840 in 2017). And for the first time, land used for organic field crop production […] Read more
Organic farms and acres increasing on the Prairies
Bunge, BP team up for Brazil sugar and ethanol venture
Sao Paulo | Reuters – U.S. commodities trader Bunge Ltd and British energy company BP Plc said on Monday they will merge their Brazilian sugar and ethanol operations to create the world’s third-largest sugarcane processor. The joint venture is the largest deal in Brazil’s bioenergy sector since Royal Dutch Shell joined forces with Cosan to […] Read more
Indonesia plans cloud seeding effort to avoid crop failure
Jakarta | Reuters – Indonesia is preparing to carry out cloud seeding in an effort to trigger rainfall to prevent harvest failure and forest fire, the disaster mitigation agency’s spokesman said on Monday. The agency’s data shows that on July 22 about 20,269 hectares of agricultural land were at risk of harvest failure because of […] Read more
Ag ministers aim for AgriStability upgrades for 2020
Coming out of their meeting in Quebec City, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial ministers for agriculture say they plan to meet again before year’s end to see about improving the AgriStability program for 2020. In a statement Friday, the ministers said they discussed “adjustments that could improve existing (business risk management) programs to address the […] Read more
Alberta, Ontario sugar beet producers hope for good year
MarketsFarm — Sugar beet farmers in Canada’s two main growing provinces are hoping for a good year, according to the leaders their respective provincial associations. Wet conditions extended planting in Ontario, said Rob McKerrall, chair of the Ontario Sugarbeet Growers’ Association (OSGA). “There was probably a third of the crop went in fairly early. It […] Read more
Keep watch for army worms in fields
Reading Time: < 1 minute The province’s extensive network of bertha army worm traps isn’t sounding any alarm bells yet, but producers should keep watch, says insect management specialist Scott Meers. Results from the traps are posted on the Alberta Agriculture website. If the cumulative count reaches 300 moths, Meers strongly recommends scouting starting in late July and progress through […] Read more
Grain equipment firm AGI takes stake in Farmobile
Canadian grain handling and storage equipment maker Ag Growth International plans to dial up its collaboration with ag tech firm Farmobile and has taken a minority stake in the U.S. company to that end. Winnipeg-based AGI announced Tuesday it had agreed to make a “minority equity investment” of US$15 million (C$19.57 million) in Farmobile, effective […] Read more
USMCA dispute panel fix must be ‘across the board,’ Mexico says
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico sees a push to close a dispute resolution loophole in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal as a way to protect its interests as well as helping satisfy demands by U.S. Democrats that the deal contain stricter labour measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Mexico […] Read more
4R nutrient stewardship key to climate change fight
Reading Time: < 1 minute Politicians need to recognize proper fertilizer use can cut greenhouse gases and should make 4R Nutrient Stewardship part of their climate change strategy, says Fertilizer Canada. The 4R program encourages using the right type of fertilizer at the right rate in the right place at the right time. It “not only increases economic performance for […] Read more
El Nino seen transitioning to neutral in next month or two
Reuters — The El Nino weather pattern is likely to transition into ENSO-neutral conditions in the next month or two, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. “ENSO-neutral” refers to periods in which neither El Nino nor La Nina is present, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC). ENSO-neutral conditions are […] Read more
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