Wheels in motion on Canadian carbon farming

Plans to set a market price for carbon and a domestic carbon emissions trading market include a place for farm projects, the federal government confirmed Monday. Environment Minister John Baird on Monday released the government’s greenhouse gas regulatory framework, which includes new regulations on Canada’s oil sands, coal power and other industries as well as […] Read more

Feds open office for red-tape disputes over food

The federal government has opened a Food and Drugs Act Liaison Office in Ottawa to handle the public’s issues with Canada’s food and drug laws. The Act is the federal legislation that governs food and drugs made in or imported into Canada and their safety, labels and label claims. According to a government press release […] Read more


Ethanol, cellulosic fuel firms team up

Toronto corn ethanol company GreenField Ethanol and Montreal cellulosic biofuel firm Enerkem have agreed to jointly build facilities to make cellulosic ethanol, starting with a plant in Canada. The two companies announced Tuesday they had signed a binding term sheet for ethanol production on a commercial scale at plants in “specified geographic areas.” Their first […] Read more

Ridley buys Ky. supplement block maker

Winnipeg feed firm Ridley Inc. has wrapped up a US$3 million deal for Kentucky livestock supplement block maker Ultralyx. Ridley, which maintains head offices in both Manitoba and Minnesota, announced last month that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Ultralyx and its parent company, 4 Seasons Marketing, based in Flemingsburg, northeast of […] Read more


N.S. funds work on longer-lasting Christmas trees

A low-maintenance Christmas tree “without a lot of needle loss” is the goal of a new Nova Scotia research project. The provincial department of natural resources on Monday pledged $250,000 for a research program by Raj Lada at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College. The funds will flow through the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia. […] Read more

Liberals’ ag task force urges regulatory review

A review of regulations affecting Canadian farming and an AgriFlex fund to regionalize farm business risk management are among the recommendations of the federal Liberals’ Opportunities in Agriculture task force. The task force, headed by Liberal ag critic Wayne Easter and a Quebec candidate, Cindy Duncan MacMillan, released its report Thursday after rolling out some […] Read more


Livestock tax deferrals rolled out for 2007

The federal government has designated its first list of municipalities where breeding livestock producers will be eligible to defer some tax on 2007 income from drought-induced sales. The tax deferral program, announced Friday, will apply to breeding livestock producers in areas of northwestern, southern and eastern Ontario and southern Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Designation […] Read more

Man. waste plant upgrades to boost pork capacity

Manitoba will direct cash from a federal community development plan to upgrades on municipal wastewater treatment plants that will allow expansions at two major pork processing facilities. The province announced Friday that it will flow part of the federal government’s pledged $41.9 million Community Development Trust funding package into upgrades of industrial wastewater treatment facilities […] Read more


Manitoba pledges $14.7M for cattle producers

Manitoba’s cattle producers will be eligible for direct payments from a $14.7 million fund to help support them through high feed costs, low cattle prices and the high Canadian dollar. The province announced Friday it will put $7.35 million toward the payments, while the other half will come from the federal government’s $41.9 million Community […] Read more

Saudis’ subsidy boosts CWB Pool B barley

A move Wednesday by the Saudi Arabian government to raise its import subsidy for feed barley has prompted the Canadian Wheat Board to issue an unusual mid-month pool return outlook (PRO) reflecting higher prices. The CWB’s mid-March 2007-08 PRO, released Friday, raises No. 1 Canada Western Pool B feed barley to $275 per tonne, up […] Read more