Calgary — Despite a year of food scares and non-stop headlines about E. coli in fresh produce, consumers in the U.S. aren’t re-thinking their acceptance of food with biotech ingredients. Those attending the 2007 Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference’s (ABIC 2007) public forum here at the University of Calgary earlier this week heard that while confidence […] Read more
Biotech not on consumers’ radar for food fears
Agrium shuts N plant for lack of gas
Fertilizer maker Agrium warns to expect further tightening in world nitrogen markets in 2008 as it closes its nitrogen fertilizer plant at Kenai, Alaska by the end of this month, for want of a natural gas supply. The Calgary company, one of the world’s biggest wholesalers of fertilizers, said in a release today that it’s […] Read more
Biotech supporters urged to take leadership role
Calgary —At the same time that the world’s biotech scientists and regulators were deep in the 2007 Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC 2007) conference here, Canada’s media had been been invited to a press conference in the same building with Dr. Florence Wambugu, one of the world’s leading scientists helping Africa feed itself. The press […] Read more
Pioneer rolls out new soy breeding tool
DuPont’s seed breeding firm Pioneer Hi-Bred plans to have new soybean varieties in 2008 selected for higher yield potential using a new breeding process. The patented molecular breeding process, which Pioneer calls Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT), uses molecular markers to track and select soy seed lines for native genetics with higher yield potential. The company […] Read more
Beef herd vaccinated for E. coli
Top Meadow Farms, a commercial beef operation in Ontario and Saskatchewan, has laid claim to the title of the world’s first beef producer to vaccinate cattle against E. coli 0157:H7. Bioniche Life Sciences, the Ontario manufacturer of the vaccine, said in late August it had already sold its first order, while the product remains under […] Read more
Quebec ag receipts keep just ahead of bills
Quebec’s farm revenue rose in the first half of 2007 compared to the same time in 2006 — an increase that stayed just ahead of a corresponding rise in expenses, the provincial statistics agency reported today. L’institut de la statistique du Quebec (ISQ) reported overall farm cash receipts of $3.32 billion for the first half […] Read more
It’s Organic Week in P.E.I.
Prince Edward Island’s Agriculture Minister Neil LeClair has proclaimed the week of Sept. 23 as Organic Week in the province. The proclamation is meant to raise awareness of the importance of the organic sector in the province. “The demand for organic products currently exceeds supply, and that provides a major opportunity to expand and diversify […] Read more
Horseback riders lack protection: injury study
The need for protective gear among horseback riders has been underlined in a Calgary study of the injuries that put them in hospital. The study of 7,941 trauma patients treated at Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre from 1995 to 2005 showed 151 people severely injured while horseback riding — 45 per cent of whom needed surgery […] Read more
Weather puts damper on Manitoba harvest
A little rain was welcome for winter wheat seeding and other fall work but has hindered the remaining harvest in Manitoba, the provincial agriculture department reported today. In its Sept. 24 crop report, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) said the province’s cereal harvest was virtually complete but for some fields in the extreme […] Read more
Wet weather stalls Sask. harvest
While combines were able to roll across much of Saskatchewan last week, damp and cool weather slowed and will slow harvest heading into this week, the provincial agriculture department reported. Harvest was 78 per cent complete, up from 66 per cent the previous week, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food’s crop report for the week […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
