Rainfall Saturday and Sunday in southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba improved soil moisture and allowed some seeding to go ahead, by varying degrees, the two provinces’ ag departments reported Monday. Following a week of continued dry and windy weather, farmers in Manitoba’s southwest received anywhere from five to 30 mm of rain, allowing many to resume […] Read more
Weekend rain benefits southern Sask., Man.
CFIA moves to end KVD on wheat imports
With kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) ending Aug. 1 on Prairie wheat, there’s no point in having wheat imports fit KVD requirements too, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Saturday. CFIA announced proposed amendments to the federal Seeds Regulations that will allow for imports of wheat seed varieties that don’t conform with KVD. A 30-day public […] Read more
NOFG hog plant’s equipment sold: CBC
All of Charlottetown’s NOFG pork processing plant, from the cutting equipment right down to the workboots, was sold at auction Saturday except for the building itself, CBC reported Monday. The Prince Edward Island government had been operating the facility through a receiver but shut it down in late March when no private-sector buyer came forward. […] Read more
Wheat, durum PROs drop back
Weakening markets have dragged on the Canadian Wheat Board’s 2008-09 and 2007-08 pool return outlooks (PROs) for Prairie spring wheats and durum. The 2008-09 PROs, released Thursday, dropped $23 per tonne from April levels for all classes of wheat and for No. 5 Canada Western Amber durum (CWAD). Milling durum PROs, meanwhile, all fell $39 […] Read more
Livestock producers up for emergency advances
Canada’s livestock producers can now apply for emergency advances through the advance payments program (APP), Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Friday. “We are pleased agreements are now in place with 10 producer organizations to deliver emergency advances so cattle and hog farmers can get the cash flow they need,” Ritz said in a release. The […] Read more
P.E.I. names ag commission members
Prince Edward Island’s commission on the future of agriculture now has a full slate of commissioners. Agriculture Minister Neil LeClair on Thursday named the members of the commission, who he said are widely representative of the industry and all areas of the province. They include: Darcy Rennie of Alberton, a dairy and potato producer; Randall […] Read more
Montreal’s expanded vet teaching hospital open
Billed as Canada’s “most modern university veterinary hospital,” the Universite de Montreal’s University Veterinary Hospital Centre officially opened for all species Friday. The federal and Quebec governments put up over $74 million alongside the university’s own funding to double and renovate the facility. UVHC’s expanded facility, which will be open 24 hours a day, 365 […] Read more
U.S. farm bill irks Canadian ag retailers
The passage of the U.S. government’s US$290 billion farm bill guarantees not only more subsidies for wealthy U.S. farmers, but tax breaks and grants for U.S. ag input retailers that their Canadian competitors can’t match, two Canadian groups said Friday. The Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers (CAAR) and the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) warn that […] Read more
Alta. to skew BSE surveillance younger
Younger Alberta cattle at high risk for BSE will be the new focus of the federal/provincial surveillance program for the disease. Starting July 1, the Canada-Alberta BSE surveillance program, run by Alberta’s agriculture department and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, will shift its focus to testing younger cattle for which critical disease history and diagnoses […] Read more
B.C. extends organic extension funding
British Columbia farmers will have an organic extension agent for at least another two years under extended funding announced Wednesday. The provincial ag and lands ministry, which provided $100,000 last year for the Certified Organic Associations of B.C. (COABC) to offer farmers an organic extension agent (OEA), has now committed $225,000 over two years to […] Read more