Tokyo | Reuters — Eleven countries aiming to forge a Asia-Pacific trade pact after the U.S. pulled out of an earlier version will sign an agreement in Chile in March, Japan’s economy minister said on Tuesday. Trade officials had been meeting in Tokyo to resolve rifts including Canada’s insistence on protections for its cultural industries […] Read more
Canada in on TPP pact, to be signed in March
Interest-free loans for wildfire damage offered
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ranchers and farmers in Cypress County and the MD of Acadia, which were hit by wildfires in October, can now apply for interest-free rebuilding loans of up to $25,000. Applications under the Hilda Wildfire Support Loan Program will be accepted until March 31. The loans can go to fund working capital, pay expenses and/or help […] Read more
Arkansas restricts dicamba for 2018
Chicago | Reuters — In a blow to manufacturers Monsanto and BASF, Arkansas state lawmakers voted on Friday to bar sprayings of a controversial weed killer after mid-April to protect farmers from potential crop damage. Arkansas will prohibit the use of herbicides based on dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31, the strictest state limits […] Read more
Cannabis firm Aurora in talks to buy both CanniMed, Newstrike
Toronto | Reuters — Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis is in talks with rivals CanniMed Therapeutics and Newstrike Resources to buy both businesses in a friendly deal that would create the nation’s top weed company, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. The deal signals an easing of tensions following an offer in […] Read more
Veterinarians won’t be dealing doggy dope any time soon
Vets are being asked about giving cannabis products to pets — but there’s no research, it’s not legal, and it could be dangerous
Reading Time: 3 minutes High-strung heeler hounding you day and night? Crazy old barn cat climbing up the walls? You might be tempted to put on some Pink Floyd, dim the lights, and give them a little something to mellow them out. All of the attention on the pending legalization of marijuana has pet owners asking their vets about […] Read more
Superclusters: Creating a silicon valley for agriculture and food
Two proposals from Western Canada are vying for backing in Ottawa’s bid to put Canada at the front of the new economy
Reading Time: 6 minutes So what would you rather have — new lucrative ‘plant protein’ markets or a way to turn Big Data into bigger profits? Those are the goals of the two agriculture and agri-food proposals vying for a slice of $950 million of federal cash that Ottawa will spend on ‘superclusters’ — business-led collaborations that aim to […] Read more
The federal government’s supercluster game plan
Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal government hopes its ‘supercluster’ plan will result in “bold and ambitious proposals that will supercharge regional innovation ecosystems.” There are a couple of key elements to the plan. One is that by having big companies team up with numerous smaller ones, the initiatives will provide a sector-wide boost rather than just serving the […] Read more
PHOTOS: People who make a difference and enrich us all
Reading Time: < 1 minute This section of our website is called Heartland but it could be called Snapshots — for it is only able to offer glimpses of a few of the people who enrich the province’s farm community. Some devote their time and energy to raise funds for a good cause in their hometown or communities on the […] Read more
More snow lately over the Sahara than the Prairies
CNS Canada — Parts of the Sahara Desert received rare snowfall over the past week, with up to 40 cm falling in the Algerian desert town of Ain Sefra. That freak snow — only the third time in 40 years — made for some fantastic photographs before melting, but would be more welcome in Western […] Read more
Major B.C. mushroom grower merging into U.S. firm
One of Canada’s biggest mushroom producers is set to merge into one of the biggest North American players in the same sector. Pennsylvania-based South Mill Mushrooms, which grows for distribution across the U.S. and into Eastern Canada, announced Tuesday it will combine its operations with those of Champ’s Mushrooms, based at Aldergrove in the Vancouver […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
