New general manager takes the helm of Manitoba Beef Producers

Newsmakers from the May 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Brian Lemon is the new general manager of the Manitoba Beef Producers, replacing Melinda German who was appointed as the first general manager of the National Checkoff Agency in March. Lemon comes to the MBP after a long career with the federal government, serving in senior positions based in Winnipeg with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, […] Read more

Boundary Loading Group’s producer car loading facility at Darlingford, Man., about 20 km west of Morden, loads 120-130 producer cars per year. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Window open wider for comment on CGC licensing moves

Facing “requests from stakeholders,” the Canadian Grain Commission has granted them a 12-week extension on its deadline for comments on plans to license feed mills, producer car loading sites and grain agents. The deadline, previously June 3, is now Aug. 31, the commission said in a release Friday. Input is being sought from producer railway […] Read more


(AOHVA.com)

Alberta lifts off-roading ban

Citing an outbreak of “wet and cool weather” across parts of the province, reducing the overall fire hazard, the Alberta government has lifted most of its restrictions on off-highway vehicle (OHV) use. The province lifted its OHV ban for “much of the province” except for its forest areas around Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray, […] Read more

Premier Dwight Ball, provincial grain research specialist Dr. Vanessa Kavanagh and Christopher Mitchelmore, minister for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, watch the seeding of Newfoundland and Labrador’s first canola field. (Gov.nl.ca)

Newfoundland’s first canola field seeded

Provincial crop researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador have scored a first for the province this spring by seeding its first-ever canola field. Dignitaries including Premier Dwight Ball and Christopher Mitchelmore, the minister responsible for the provincial Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, attended the seeding Friday near Pasadena, about 30 km east of Corner Brook. Agency researchers and […] Read more


Biologists isolate novel genes from cauliflower to improve crop nutritional value. A study committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine looking at gene-altered crops notes a genetically engineered characteristic that alters the nutritional content of a crop is “unlikely to have the same environmental or economic effects as a characteristic for herbicide resistance.” (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. study finds no risks to people, planet in GMOs

It’s time for the task of regulating new crop varieties to focus on plants’ characteristics rather than on how the plants were developed, a team of U.S. scientists recommends in a new report. A study committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on Tuesday released an “extensive” study of genetically engineered crops, finding […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Agrium)

N.B. to assess unwanted potash deposit

A potash deposit from which one of the world’s biggest fertilizer companies recently walked away will be the subject of a provincial review for its future potential. The New Brunswick government announced May 11 it will soon finalize a contract to hire a third-party consultant to assess the remaining potash resource, if any, in the […] Read more


Kansas-based Great Plains Manufacturing, whose 3S-3000HD drill is shown here, is set to become an arm of Japanese manufacturer Kubota. (GreatPlainsAg.com)

Kubota to buy equipment maker Great Plains

Japanese farm, construction, yard and landscaping equipment maker Kubota is set to expand its share in several of those sectors with a deal for Kansas equipment firm Great Plains Manufacturing. Kubota, which has had a strategic alliance with Great Plains for implements in the U.S. since 2007, announced Friday it will buy 100 per cent […] Read more

History: Alberta’s Horn Penalty and Fund

Abridged from the January 1950 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Alberta’s Horn Penalty and Fund By Kenneth Coppock Alberta has given some good leads and some bad ones to the other western provinces. In the matter of the horn penalty we are convinced that the lead given was definitely bad. A brief historical review should be of interest. Over a long period Canadian packers pointed […] Read more


A member of Wildfire Management Alberta’s Wild Mountain Unit pulls hose through smouldering forest in the Parsons Creek area of Fort McMurray on May 5. (Chris Schwarz photo courtesy Government of Alberta via Flickr)

Glacier pledges support for wildfire disaster relief

Farm Business Communications’ parent company, Glacier Media, is donating $50,000 toward the Canadian Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in the Fort McMurray area. The Vancouver company said its donation is also on behalf of individual Glacier business units, which will undertake their own awareness and fundraising efforts to help the city and its residents rebuild […] Read more

(Richardson.ca)

Richardson books record port handle during expansion

Prairie grain firm Richardson International has wrapped up construction of a major new expansion at its Port Metro Vancouver export terminal and reported a record grain handle for the year while doing so. The Winnipeg company on Tuesday reported its North Vancouver terminal shipped 5.2 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds in 2015, which it […] Read more