A pair of Saskatchewan co-operatives are expanding their reach in the crop input retail sector in that province’s northeast, with a deal to buy an independent dealership chain. Lake Country Co-op and Prairie North Co-op announced Tuesday they have agreements in place to buy the assets of Melfort-based Paragon Ag Service from owners Sherman Boland […] Read more
Two Saskatchewan co-ops to buy ag input retailer
Paragon Ag Service assets to be divvied up
Seed quality appears to be better than expected despite heat, drought
Germination rates from fall tests by 20/20 Seed Labs were well above the 90 per cent rate
Reading Time: 2 minutes A “seed quality disaster” has been averted but supply is another story. “For most of the seeds that we tested this season, we expected to see some level of dormancy, but we haven’t seen much of that,” Moses Palmer of 20/20 Seed Labs wrote in an article on Alberta Seed Guide’s website last month. “Mostly, […] Read more
Seed regulatory review reveals industry split
CSGA and Seeds Canada differences affect government review process, the first in decades
Reading Time: 5 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada is in the midst of a “once-in-a-generation” review of its seed regulations, but the “Seed Regulatory Modernization” (SRM) process is revealing old industry fractures. Animosity appears to be lingering over the “Seed Synergy” process that led to the formation and launch of Seeds Canada in February of this year. That five-year […] Read more
A ‘challenging year’ for seed supply
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s not a guarantee of getting your seed order filled but one company says it will do the legwork in trying to find scarce seed for its customers. Canterra Seeds says its online ordering system will have a “secure supply” option that will direct an order to the nearest suppliers. “The goal is to match […] Read more
Drought slashes seed supplies across the Prairies
Seed supplies are likely to be lower than average this year, so source your seed earlier than normal
Reading Time: 6 minutes Sarah Weigum started to suspect this wouldn’t be a typical year for seed sales back in July, when one of her customers called to book seed for next spring. “My customers aren’t normally the type who call in July for seed for the next spring, and that was just the beginning,” said the Three Hills-area […] Read more
Hemp industry looking forward despite hurdles
Industry 'on the edge of turning'
MarketsFarm — The number of hemp acres grown in Canada, of which more than 80 per cent are on the Prairies, have ebbed and flowed over the past few years. In 2018, 41,200 acres were planted, according to Statistics Canada, but the total more than doubled the next year to 91,100. In 2020, that number […] Read more
Cargill buying further into Saskatchewan ag retail
Company to take up other half of Precision Ag
Cargill plans to expand its crop retail reach further into southeastern Saskatchewan by buying up the remaining half of one of its joint ventures in the region. The Canadian arm of the U.S. agrifood firm said Thursday it will buy up crop input retailer Precision Ag for an undisclosed sum, taking up the 50 per […] Read more
Prairie farm slapped with plant breeders’ rights infringement penalties
Farmers need to know who they are buying seed from to avoid potentially significant costs
Infringing on Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) has cost a large southern Alberta farm a record $737,597. “The settlement relates to unauthorized advertisements and sales of PBR-protected barley and wheat varieties,” Alliance Seed, SeCan and an unnamed seed company said in a news release Wednesday. The settlement “includes the royalties, plus legal fees and penalties,” Todd […] Read more
Investor nominates directors for Corteva, aims to oust CEO
Reuters — Activist investor Starboard Value LP said on Thursday it has nominated eight directors to the board of Corteva, seeking to oust its chief executive officer and take control of the pesticide and seed maker. Starboard, in its letter to Corteva’s chairman, said it had identified someone new for the top job, but declined […] Read more
China building world’s largest seed bank
Larger facility a bid to boost food security
Beijing | Reuters — China will complete a new national crop germplasm bank this year, the agriculture minister said Wednesday, to boost the country’s capacity to develop new crop varieties and enhance food security. The bank has a designed capacity of 1.5 million copies, almost four times the existing one, and will be the world’s […] Read more
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