The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is proposing an addition to the proposed next-generation national agriculture framework to address regional issues that support the national goals. The proposed program, which the CFA has dubbed AgriFlex, would complement national programs such as AgriInvest and AgriStability and establish federal funding to support the cost-shared programs, said CFA […] Read more
CFA proposes regional ag framework component
Ag ministers at sit-down
Canadian agriculture ministers are gathering in Ottawa this weekend for a series of meetings that will examine current issues in agriculture and a proposed new national agriculture policy. The ministers say key issues for discussion at the November 16-17 meetings will be the impact of the high Canadian dollar and low livestock prices as well […] Read more
Case of soy rust confirmed in Ontario
Asian soybean rust has infected a Canadian soybean crop for the first time, but too late in the year to do damage, according to Ontario’s soybean growers’ association. The Ontario Soybean Growers, in a statement Friday, said staff from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have tested […] Read more
Hog farms get $25M for circovirus vaccinations
The federal government will foot half the bill for Canadian hog farmers to test and vaccinate herds against circovirus-related disease. Christian Paradis, federal secretary of state for agriculture, on Thursday announced $25 million for a Circovirus Inoculation Program (CIP), for which hog owners or herd managers can apply. Forms will be mailed to Canadian hog […] Read more
Wheat board backs ID systems to replace KVD
The Canadian Wheat Board is putting up funding to test two new ways of identifying wheat varieties, for the day when kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) is phased out as the standard ID method. Under KVD, the CWB explained, each wheat class is assigned distinct visual characteristics such as kernel shape and seed coat colour, so […] Read more
Sask. hog breeders make biggest air drop into China
Hog genetics firm Hypor JV has completed the largest-ever shipment of Canadian hogs into China by air, the company reported Wednesday. Hypor, the Kitchener, Ont.-based swine breeding arm of Dutch livestock firm Hendrix Genetics, shipped 816 hogs by truck from its breeding operations at Ituna and Abernethy in southeastern Saskatchewan, to Chicago. There the animals […] Read more
St. Lawrence plans for record-long year
The St. Lawrence Seaway has announced late-December closures for its Montreal-Lake Ontario section and for the Welland Canal, likely assuring another record-long season for the shipping passage. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. posted 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 29 as the planned closing date for the seaway’s Montreal-Lake Ontario section, which opened this year […] Read more
Village Farms cuts back to cut losses
Lack of sunshine and higher costs led Vancouver hothouse tomato producer Village Farms to a US$3.4 million net loss in its third quarter ending Sept. 30. The company is billed as the biggest producer, marketer and distributor of greenhouse tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers in North America, with major greenhouses at Delta and Abbotsford, B.C. […] Read more
Ag Growth buys U.S. equipment maker
Winnipeg grain handling equipment firm Ag Growth has signed a deal to buy another handling gear and storage manufacturer, Union Iron, for US$20.2 million. Union Iron, based at Decatur, Ill. (southwest of Chicago) makes equipment for commercial and larger farm operations, including bucket elevators, drag conveyors, screw conveyors, truck probes, towers and trusses, distributors, facility […] Read more
PotashCorp to expand SE Sask. potash mine
Saskatoon-based PotashCorp, already the world’s biggest potash producer by capacity, plans to boost that capacity by two million tonnes per year with a US$1.8 billion mine and mill expansion at Rocanville in southeastern Saskatchewan. The company said in a release Wednesday that this project will raise PotashCorp’s total annual potash capacity to 15.7 million tonnes […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
