Genetically engineering insects is no longer a vision for the future. In fact, one group of GE mosquitoes, Oxitec Ltd's OX513A, have moved from proof of principle to deployment, and have been used in open field trials in Malaysia, Grand Cayman, and now in Brazil. The mosquitoes are hoped to control their non-modified counterpart, Aedes... Read More
Category: Crop Production
Bayer CropScience (Bayer) and DuPont Crop Protection (DuPont) have signed of an agreement for Bayer to purchase certain DuPont Crop Protection land management assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. Through the acquisition, Bayer gains access to DuPont's forestry, range and pasture products and expands its environmental science business unit to... Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission has released a report that provides an overall perspective on cereal crop acres grown in Western Canada this year, breaking down acres by province, class and variety. Carberry, Harvest and Stettler were the most popular Canada Western Red Spring wheat varieties grown on the prairies this year (see chart below), while... Read More
Do you know what quality impact moving corn through your handling, drying and storage set up has? It can be significant, but if you're not sampling (and sampling properly) at several points in the process, you can't know for sure. What's more, a good chunk of damage, either through too hot/too fast drying or moisture... Read More
The idea that GMO-free foods are more "natural" than those with genetically modified ingredients is a misconception, says a plant biologist and advocate for genetic modification from the University of Florida. Speaking at the University of Manitoba last week, Kevin Folta discussed how transgenic (or GM) technology works and misunderstandings about genetically modified organisms. He... Read More
Agricultural programming at Lethbridge College will benefit from a record-setting $3.1 million gift from a family whose Alberta roots go back to its earliest days as a province, the college announced today. The planned-giving philanthropic gift from Lloyd and Dorothy Mueller will transform the college’s agricultural programming and shape the future of the agricultural industry... Read More
A grand opening for the University of Saskatchewan's new Canadian Feed Research Centre in North Battleford was held on Friday. The $13.9 million facility is home to research looking at developing high-value animal feeds from lower-value crops and co-products coming from the biofuel industry. U of S has refurbished the property after purchasing it from... Read More
Plant breeding takes time. Significant amounts of it, in fact. While genetic resistance to things like diseases or pests or even built-in agronomic traits like standability are the ideal, a new wheat variety may take a decade to produce, and even then, still not meet all the needs of every farmer who grows it. In... Read More
The Oat and Barley Representation Committee is making farmers aware that the Farm Products Marketing Commission will be conducting a producer expression of opinion vote among Ontario oat and barley farmers. The purpose of the vote is to determine whether farmers who grow oats and barley in Ontario wish to be represented by Grain Farmers... Read More
If the soybeans are mature, but a wee bit damp yet, do you let them stand or get them in the bin so you can dry them down? Helmut Spieser, agricultural engineer with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, would call leaving the beans out a "gutsy" move, and not one that's... Read More