The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency is generally known for its work funding research and market development in the beef and pork industries, but the organization also has a vested interest in dairy. Whether its forage production, animal welfare or meat prices, dairy has more in common with other livestock industries than most recognize, says... Read More
Category: Western Canada
The Chinese government has agreed to postpone tighter dockage standards on Canadian canola. In February, China indicated a new standard allowing no more than 1 percent foreign material would be implemented on April 1. As Reuters first reported on Tuesday morning, China's import policy changes have now been postponed until September 1, 2016. The Chinese... Read More
Deere & Company announced Tuesday it has entered a joint venture with Hagie Manufacturing that sees Deere acquire a majority ownership in the Iowa-based high-clearance sprayer company. Equipment made by the joint venture will maintain the Hagie brand. Sales and service for Hagie machines will become part of Deere's global network over the next 15... Read More
The entire seed industry value chain in Canada — from breeders through to grain companies —is adjusting to new Plant Breeders' Rights legislation following the ratification of UPOV '91 standards last June. As Lorne Hadley, executive director of the Canadian Plant Technology Agency, explains in the conversation below, the CPTA is working with all stakeholders... Read More
The ratio of workers to retirees in Canada has historically been around 5 to 1, however it's trending toward 2 to 1 in the next few decades. The implications this will have for government and the labour market was the topic of Andrew Coyne's talk at the Growing the Agri-Workforce Summit, as ag industry people... Read More
The number of soil tests in Manitoba with phosphorus concentrations below the critical level for crop production grew by 7 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to the new North American Soil Test Summary published by the International Plant Nutrition Institute. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec, as well as 13 U.S. states, all saw more... Read More
In the ongoing battle to make consumers more open to Canadian farmers’ use of technology, agriculture may finally be gaining some ground. That may be hard to believe, given the same old hackneyed arguments about GMOs and the like that keep surfacing. But CropLife President Ted Menzies told about 80 participants in a Farm Management... Read More
Editor's Note: This article was submitted by South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc. As mild winter weather transitions into a warm spring, producers are gearing up for an early seeding season, including those who are planning to seed forages. For farmers and ranchers who are used to looking on the horizon for the... Read More
In the summer of 2014, Cor Van Raay, a renowned agricultural entrepreneur in southern Alberta, donated $5 million to Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge to establish the Cor Van Raay Southern Alberta Agribusiness Program. And, as of last fall, the first initiative was offered under the program. The initiative is called the Agriculture... Read More