Reading Time: < 1 minute There are a few days left to apply for the Canada Summer Jobs Program. The program will pay qualifying businesses (including farms and agribusinesses) up to 75 per cent of the minimum hourly wage to provide summer jobs for people between age 15 and 30. Criteria include having 50 or fewer employees and providing quality […] Read more

Subsidies available for student summer jobs
Deadline for applications is Jan. 29

Provinces’ feet held to fire on AgriStability
Ministers' meeting co-chairs push for progress to allow changes to be made retroactive for 2020
The co-chairs of Canada’s agriculture ministers’ meeting are pushing to get proposed improvements to AgriStability in place sooner than later. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Ontario counterpart, Ernie Hardeman, “urge all provincial and territorial ministers to support the proposed changes to the AgriStability program,” they said in a joint statement Tuesday. At a […] Read more
Three organizations get holiday gift from BASF
Reading Time: < 1 minute A hockey association, ag society and a Boys & Girls Club received an early Christmas present after farmers in their area selected them to receive a $5,000 donation. The money came from BASF Canada, which runs a contest in which producers “share their experiences” of growing InVigor canola. Eight farmers are chosen and can donate […] Read more

Trudeau names new transport, foreign affairs ministers
Garneau to handle foreign policy; Omar Alghabra takes transport
Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named new ministers for foreign affairs and transport on Tuesday ahead of an election that insiders in his Liberal Party say is likely this year. Trudeau’s hand was forced when Innovations Minister Navdeep Bains, 43, unexpectedly announced he was resigning from politics for family reasons. Bains, who […] Read more

Climate change will bring drastic change here, say experts
Alberta has been hit hard by extreme weather in recent years, and a new report says more trouble lies ahead
Reading Time: 4 minutes Albertans can expect to see more extreme weather as climate change reshapes the landscape of the Prairies. “There’s quite a bit of strong scientific evidence that, in a warming climate, you can expect extreme weather events to occur with increased severity, in particular flooding and wildfire,” said Dave Sauchyn, director of the Prairie Adaptation Research […] Read more

How do you view hunting on your farm or ranch?
Conservation groups seeking view of rural landowners on allowing hunters on their property
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Conservation Association wants to find out the views of rural landowners when it comes to allowing hunters on their land. While hunters can and do cause problems for farmers and ranchers, many welcome them and the role they play in wildlife management, the association said in a release. “No matter what perspective you […] Read more

Indian government, farmers fail to break deadlock on ag market laws
New Delhi | Reuters — The Indian government and representatives of protesting farmers failed to reach an agreement on contentious new agriculture laws on Friday and said they will meet again in a week’s time. Tens of thousands of farmers have been camped on the outskirts of the capital New Delhi for over a month, […] Read more

Schoepp: A tedious task offers up some lessons on life
Those who came before us have given us a gift and we must preserve it for future generations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Surrounding my new rural house is a rock garden that stretches 30 metres long and is 10 metres deep. It’s steep and rugged and has not been tended to for several years. The task of pulling established grasses, invasive ground cover and weeds from this huge space seemed a monumental task. I began the process […] Read more

Soil scientists turned children’s authors win acclaim
Reading Time: 3 minutes Benjamin Ellert and Katelyn Lutes know a lot about soil, but knew nothing about writing children’s books. Until they wrote one. And now the two federal soil scientists can add ‘prize-winning children’s author’ to their resumés. The duo from Ag Canada’s Lethbridge research station recently won second prize in an international book contest run by […] Read more

Longer-range forecast points to warmer-than-normal winter
MarketsFarm — Warmer-than-normal temperatures are in the long-range forecast across all of Canada for the next three months, according to the latest outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Thursday, calls for a 40 to 70 per cent chance of above-normal temperatures from January through March for the western […] Read more