The Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA) announced today that an agreement has been reached to allow commercially-grown Faller wheat into the U.S. via ADM and its approved affiliates. Farmers should note, however, that while there are now approved ports and terminals to take the wheat, beginning in 2014, all Faller wheat grown in Canada must... Read More
Category: News
A major buyer of Ontario-grown processing tomatoes announced yesterday that it will close by next spring. While the news wasn't entirely unexpected, the confirmation that the Leamington-based H.J. Hienz tomato processing facility would close within a few months has devastated an industry and a community. The plant, which Heinz says is the second largest of... Read More
Five small communities in Saskatchewan have a chance to try out a new water-purification system valued at $45,000 in a competition that seeks to find Saskatchewan's worst water. The system was developed by Tec-Water Supplies Inc's Bill Kidd, and uses a coagulant (or floc) to join the particles that cause turbidity in water. Once the…Read More
For the last 20 years, Dr. Helen Thompson has worked on the research side of the agricultural industry with Britain's Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA). She recently left FERA to start work with Syngenta, a move that has caused a bit of a stir in the agriculture industry there. But, controversy or not, Thompson... Read More
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand at Agri-Trade at Red Deer, Alta., today to announce over $25 million in funding support for the the National Wheat Improvement Project (NWIP). The Government of Canada, along with the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA)... Read More
A broad-spectrum, multi-mode of action tank-mix is one way to manage herbicide resistance. BASF Canada and Monsanto Canada have teamed up to recommend tank-mixing Roundup Transorb HC or Roundup Ultra2 herbicide with Heat or Distinct herbicide. The companies have sweetened the deal by offering a $0.50 per acre discount when farmers purchase either of the... Read More
This past week not only marked the running of the Royal, formerly the Royal Agriculture Winter Fair, but also the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition in Toronto, Ont. Each year, bright young minds in two categories, junior and senior, gather together to give a five to seven minute speech on a given topic. Just…Read More
The first-of-its-kind Local Food Act has passed third reading and will become Ontario law. Third time's a charm for Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey, who has had a similar bill fail two times, once because of an election and the second time because of prorogation. Included in the bill are several points, but the focus is... Read More
Those of you brave enough to include malt barley in the rotation next year (sorry, that's my Manitoba showing), the Canadian Malting Barley Technical Centre has released its list of recommended varieties for 2014. Listing the top picks for both 2-row and 6-row varieties, the recommended list is a helpful tool in selecting varieties that... Read More
A three-year deal still needs to be ratified by workers, but Canadian National (CN) railway reports today that a tentative deal has been struck with the Teamsters union and a rail strike has been averted. The threatened strike would have crippled an already severely taxed logistics system trying to move the huge 2013 crop. As... Read More