Estimates so far from Prairie farmers’ hail claims for 2007 come in at $208 million, just short of the $211 million collected in premiums, according to a hail insurers’ group. The Canadian Crop Hail Association said Friday in the last of its bimonthly reports for 2007 that “considerably more” cash will be paid out in […] Read more
Premiums just cover ’07 Prairie hail claims: insurers
Wind, sun power Alta. air monitoring station
Alberta’s West Central Airshed Society has opened the province’s first air monitoring station powered by solar and wind energy. The station, one of 127 air monitoring stations in the province, is meant to provide background data to help manage air quality in the province. The Alberta government, which put up $40,000 toward the design and […] Read more
Barley market not tied to single-desk fight: Ritter
Prices for Prairie barley have little to do with the prospects of an open market and have climbed, not fallen, said Canadian Wheat Board chairman Ken Ritter Thursday, rebutting claims Wednesday by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Ritter said Harper’s comments in the House of Commons, which were part of his response to Tuesday night’s throne […] Read more
McCain sells packaged juice business
McCain Foods Canada has signed a deal to sell its packaged juice business to Quebec juice company A. Lassonde for an undisclosed sum. The operations, referred to as its “aseptic beverage” business, involve McCain’s Old South, Zwak and Junior Juice lines of single-serving and large juice boxes. McCain keeps its Old South, McCain and Cool […] Read more
Sask. avian flu flock buried: CFIA
Burial of all birds and all litter from barns on a “depopulated” southern Saskatchewan poultry farm is complete, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday. Decomposition after burial will effectively kill the highly pathogenic H7N3 avian flu virus that infected some birds in the Regina Beach-area flock, the agency said. The burial, however, doesn’t spell […] Read more
Lillian wheat caught on quick: CWB survey
Lillian, a milling wheat variety launched last year, is already the most commonly seeded red spring wheat on the Prairies, the Canadian Wheat Board found in its annual variety survey. Lillian, known for a solid stem that resists damage caused by the wheat-stem sawfly, made up 14.8 per cent of all CWRS seeding on the […] Read more
Safflower drug back on track
A Calgary biotech company’s plans to make cardiovascular drugs from safflower will resume after a false start this summer. SemBioSys Genetics — which is already known for breeding gene-altered safflower that produces insulin — had first announced in July that it had bred safflower lines that could make commercial levels of “Apo AI,” a major […] Read more
Collection set for Sask. farmers’ old chemicals
A three-day drive to collect Saskatchewan farmers’ obsolete pesticides will run Oct. 23 to 25, CropLife Canada announced Wednesday. Farmers and turf growers can dispose of obsolete farm herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and rodenticides free of charge at one of 45 participating retailers during those three days, the chemical industry trade association said in a release. […] Read more
Farmers await “actual deliverables” from Throne Speech
Farm groups say they’re looking forward to movement on some or all of the farming-related points in last night’s federal Speech from the Throne, but also wonder about the government’s plans on issues left unmentioned. The speech, delivered Tuesday evening by Governor General Michaelle Jean on the Tory government’s behalf, included brief mentions of several […] Read more
P.E.I. potato field quarantined: CBC
Canadian Food Inspection Agency staff have quarantined a field near Kensington on Prince Edward Island, pending tests for what’s suspected to be potato wart, CBC News reported Tuesday. A single potato was pulled from the field with what appeared to be potato wart, an agency spokesman told CBC, adding that the field is near another […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
