A red spring wheat variety that accounted for more than 20 percent of wheat acres in Western Canada in the early 2000s has been chosen as the 2015-16 Seed of the Year West. CDC Teal was developed by Dr. Geoff Hughes and Dr. Pierre Hucl at the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre and supported... Read More
Category: Western Canada
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization hosted an international symposium in Rome last month on The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition. The FAO's goal for the event was to debate and exchange ideas on how biotech can benefit smallholder farmers — both in sustainability and nutrition — in the... Read More
A certain irony exists in the fact that quinoa — a relatively new crop to modern farmers and today’s consumers — is both a cousin to one of Canada’s most notorious weeds (lamb’s quarters), and a food plant that’s been around in a primitive form for hundreds of years in South America. But Quinta Quinoa,... Read More
Update as of March 3, 2016: The landowners conducting the protest have "retreated" following a commitment, they say, from Manitoba Hydro to move equipment out and clean it. They're asking to have a third party, possibly the CFIA, ensure biosecurity protocol is followed. Spokesperson Jurgen Kohler says Hydro crews aren't meeting their own biosecurity standards,... Read More
The administration of cash advances has become a competitive business following legislative changes to the federal government's cash advance program last year. With the passage of Bill C-18, each producer group that serves as an Advance Payments Program administrator (find a list here) can issue the short-term loans for all 45 crops and livestock types…Read More
While the number of CWRS wheat acres on the prairies is expected to drop by around 1.5 million, the trend toward more growing more high-yielding wheat varieties will continue, according to the general manager of FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Meanwhile, pea and lentil acres are expected to rise dramatically (surprise!), but seed supply will be a... Read More
Grains continued to trade sideways to lower through the end of February as the data points that keep coming do not support a reversal of the bearish market fundamentals. The market is taking into account more crop conditions from Europe and South America, while adjusting for the new forecasts for U.S. grain supply, demand, and... Read More
Back in the winter of 2013-14 when Western Canada's grain industry was bogged down in a massive rail backlog, the upcoming review of the Canada Transportation Act was viewed as an opportunity to improve the way the rail system moves grain. The review process began in May of 2014 and the final report written by... Read More
Over the past few years, we've been inundated with media updates surrounding H5N1, Ebola, and now, Zika virus. But something we often overlook in all the coverage, is that many diseases — and in fact, all three of the aforementioned — are zoonotic. In other words, they can be passed between humans and animals. That... Read More
Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier has agreed to work with a coalition of farm groups to improve farm and ranch safety in the province. The Alberta Agriculture Farm and Ranch Safety Coalition, or the "AgCoalition," was formed in response to Bill 6 — the Alberta government's new farm labour legislation. The group aims to provide... Read More