Grain growers in Canada who take deferred cash purchase tickets for crops are being asked whether it’s time to get rid of the rule that allows income from those tickets to be put off to the following tax year. Tucked into federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget on Wednesday was an announcement of public consultation, […] Read more

Tax treatment of deferred grain cash tickets under review

History: The worst fire I ever saw
Reprinted from the July 1950 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
The worst fire I ever saw By Mrs. S. E. Warren, Vauxhall, Alta. ‘Not long ago the Lethbridge Herald printed an account of a prairie fire in the south-east of the province in early homestead days. As the oldtimer read the story he was reminded of another prairie fire, – “The worst fire I ever […] Read more

Between the Rows: Tech, teaching and tonnage
It’s no secret that technology companies have placing agriculture-related bets in recent years, but their total investment in startups is down from its 2015 peak. Has Silicon Valley cooled on agriculture or will it keep pushing at what some describe as tech’s “last frontier?” On this week’s episode of Glacier FarmMedia’s new podcast Between the […] Read more

Agrifood a pillar in federal budget’s ‘innovation’ plan
The federal government’s latest budget puts up Canada’s agrifood sector as one of six “key areas” to benefit from a new national “Innovation and Skills Plan.” Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday unveiled a budget projecting $330.2 billion in expenses in 2017-18 against budgetary revenues of $304.7 billion, for a $28.5 billion deficit. The […] Read more

PHOTOS: Three families honoured by Saskatchewan Livestock Association
Associations: News Roundup from the March 2017 issue of Canadian Cattlemen
The current Saskatchewan Livestock Association representing all the cattle, horse, sheep and swine breeders in the province was formed in 1975 to replace the Saskatchewan Livestock Board, but the honour rolls it presents to farm families who have made outstanding contributions to the livestock industry, their communities and the province date back to the first […] Read more

Saskatchewan cuts farm fuel tax exemptions in budget
“Purple gas” is about to become a quaint old figure of speech for Saskatchewan farmers as the provincial tax exemption for bulk gasoline for farm use ends April 1. The provincial government on Wednesday rolled out a budget designed to dial back the province’s reliance on resource revenue in the face of slumping markets for […] Read more

Tim’s, Burger King to tighten broiler welfare standards
The owner of the Tim Hortons and Burger King fast food chains plans to have the broiler chicken producers supplying its Canadian and U.S. outlets meet a tighter set of welfare standards within the next seven years. Restaurant Brands International (RBI) announced on its website it will be “pursuing alignment” with Global Animal Partnership (GAP) […] Read more

Prince Rupert expansion to handle crop containers
A Montreal logistics firm specializing in loading pulses and grains into containers for export out of Vancouver and Montreal plans to set up shop at Prince Rupert. The Prince Rupert Port Authority on Monday announced Ray-Mont Logistics is developing a logistics and container loading facility at the south end of the West Coast port’s Ridley […] Read more

No point in quarantine for verticillium wilt, CFIA says
Slapping federal quarantines on canola fields with verticillium wilt wouldn’t serve much purpose, since the yield-robbing fungi is already in all of Canada’s major canola-growing areas, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. While the agency itself is recommending against regulation, CFIA on Wednesday posted a draft of a risk management document on verticillium wilt, seeking […] Read more

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Tennessee, Alabama
Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are being warned not to bring in raw poultry or eggs from Tennessee or Alabama following outbreaks of avian flu in those states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced restrictions on imports of uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from those two states until […] Read more