Fresh hops can fetch $8 a pound, but only have a shelf life of about 24 hours before they must be dried.

Demand is there, but jumping into hops isn’t easy

Reading Time: 2 minutes If you’re wondering if hops might be something you’d like to try, Ontario’s Ag Ministry’s website has a powerpoint primer called Local Hops: A brewing industry. Even though the presentation is barely a year old, Alberta doesn’t even make the list of hops-growing provinces. The owners of Northern Girls Hops west of Edmonton actually started […] Read more



Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa looks on as he chairs ZANU PF’s Politburo meeting in Harare on Dec. 13. Photo: Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo.

Zimbabwe orders illegal settlers to vacate farms

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe’s new agriculture minister on Wednesday ordered illegal occupiers of farms to vacate the land immediately, a move that could ultimately see some white farmers who say they were unfairly evicted return to farming. Perrance Shiri, a military hardliner who was head of the air force before being picked for the […] Read more

‘Go local’ also applies to Christmas trees

‘Go local’ also applies to Christmas trees

Reading Time: < 1 minute Thinking of cutting your Christmas tree on Crown land this year? “To do this, you will need to obtain a permit from an Alberta government forestry office,” said provincial woodlot extension specialist Toso Bozic. “When cutting your own tree, you know that it’s fresh.” For information on obtaining a permit, go to the Alberta Agriculture […] Read more


A book on raising bees is one of Alberta Agriculture’s suggestions for a stocking stuffer this Christmas.

Christmas gift suggestions for green thumbs (and bee lovers)

A comprehensive how-to guide might be an ideal gift for someone keen on gardening, beekeeping, or starting a sideline enterprise

Reading Time: < 1 minute Know someone interested in commercial production? These Alberta Agriculture and Forestry books might be a perfect gift. Commercial Vegetable Production on the Prairies ($20 plus GST): A comprehensive 300-page resource and reference tool suitable for new and experienced vegetable growers at all scales of commercial production. Key topics included planning for vegetable production, seeding, transplanting, […] Read more

(Newstrike.ca)

CanniMed asks regulators to step in on hostile bid

Reuters — Medical marijuana company CanniMed Therapeutics has asked federal regulators to intervene as it seeks to prevent a hostile takeover by bigger rival Aurora Cannabis Inc. Saskatoon-based CanniMed said Monday it asked the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan and the Ontario Securities Commission to declare that Aurora’s move to take its buyout […] Read more





Field Roast’s plant-based FieldBurger is made using assorted vegetables, mushrooms and barley. (FieldRoast.com)

Maple Leaf buys further into ‘meat’ market

One of Canada’s biggest packaged meat companies is further expanding its space on the non-animal protein shelf with a deal for U.S. processor Field Roast Grain Meat. Maple Leaf Foods announced Nov. 30 it will pay US$120 million (C$153.9 million) for the Seattle-based company, which makes and markets premium grain-based “meat” and vegan cheese products. […] Read more

(Saskatchewan.ca)

Saskatchewan to offer discount option on Crown land

Facing another rent hike in 2018, some Saskatchewan farmers leasing cultivated and “formerly cultivated” Crown land from the province are getting an option to buy the land instead at a 10 per cent discount. Provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart on Tuesday announced a “targeted incentive” program aimed at about 1,100 eligible leaseholders, offering the 10 […] Read more