Canada has officially notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) that British Columbia is now considered free of avian influenza. On June 3, B.C. successfully completed three months of surveillance following eradication of the disease. Related: Third Oxford County Farm Presumed Infected with H5 Avian Influenza; Within 2nd Quarantine Zone Avian Influenza Threat Forces... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods has entered an agreement to be bought by an American investment company for C$132.5 million. Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI), a publicly-traded company that "owns and manages a diverse family of established North American middle market businesses," will acquire an approximate 87 percent ownership stake in the Winnipeg-based hemp food business. Manitoba... Read More
The Saskatchewan Premises Identification (PID) Database was launched as a new online resource to help improve livestock emergency prevention and response. “The benefits of the Premises Identification Database are far-reaching,” said Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart. “Knowing where our province’s livestock is located allows us to be more effective in handling everything from flooding to... Read More
$1.2 million for the purchase of corn and soybean research equipment was announced by MP Candice Bergen near Homewood, Manitoba this past weekend. The Manitoba Corn Growers Association is collaborating with the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the University of Manitoba in purchasing research equipment to be used at 11... Read More
Swiss-based Syngenta has rebuffed a second $45 billion purchase offer from U.S.-based Monsanto, calling it "unsolicited" and a "reputational risk." Initially, Syngenta cited worries over global regulatory approvals as one of the main reasons behind the first refused offer. And, though Monsanto saw "no legitimate basis for the regulatory concerns" outlined in Syngenta's refusal, the... Read More
While this growing season may have some pulse growers wishing Mother Nature would turn the water taps on, the past few seasons have been tough on pulse crops when it comes to root rots and seedling diseases. Particularly in 2013, farmers were stumped by pea fields hard-hit by "wet feet." Turns out, there was a... Read More
I’ve often wondered what would happen if I moved my dairy farm to Toronto’s Yonge and Eglinton. I’d take some floor space out in a nearby building and then open the doors to let the cows come and go as the please. Free-range is all the rage, anyway. I wouldn’t feed them myself though, I’d... Read More