From 2013 to 2014, Canada has seen increases in beekeepers, colonies, honey production and value, according to Statistics Canada data. This has the country in a very good position in the industry, says Lee Townsend. Townsend is a commercial beekeeper from Stony Plain, Alberta, and a speaker at the upcoming FarmTech Conference in Edmonton. His... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Global markets were blindsided by Russia in the third week of December as Moscow raised its key interest rates to a shocking 17 per cent, up significantly from the 10.5 per cent level they had been just raised to a few days earlier. Why the rate increase? The ruble has been free-falling this year with... Read More
Whether it was the rail transportation fiasco in Western Canada, the ongoing country-of-origin labeling dispute with the U.S., the Canada-E.U. trade deal, UPOV '91, bee health, the Canadian Wheat Board...the list goes on — 2014 was another eventful and exciting year in Canadian agriculture. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz joined RealAg’s Kelvin Heppner to look back... Read More
In May of 2013 the United States Department of Agriculture notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) of an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in a small number of swine herds in the States. By January 2014, the virus had crossed the border, with the first case of PED confirmed on a farm in... Read More
Guest editorial by Henry Vos, a former Canadian Wheat Board director from Alberta. Editor's note: This week the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, a group that includes some former CWB directors, applied to have the Supreme Court hear their appeal to move ahead with a class action lawsuit against the federal government. The $17... Read More
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and down with a crash Came feeder cattle futures and Russia’s cash. CN charged too much to move grain by rail, And we laughed ’cause people got BS in the mail. Here’s TWORA for December 18th, 2014: Related: Happy Holidays from the RealAg Crew to You The Seedpod — Ep.... Read More
CN Rail exceeded its volume-based "cap" on grain revenue in the 2013-14 crop year by almost $5 million, according to a ruling issued by the Canadian Transportation Agency today. The CTA says CN's grain revenue of $672,110,852 was $4,981,915 above its entitlement of $667,128,937. Under federal regulations, the railway now has 30 days to pay... Read More
The Saskatchewan Pork Development Board will receive up to $260,000 in funding towards research into Brachyspira hampsonii and vibriosis, announced Member of Parliament Brad Trost in Saskatoon today. Brachyspira hampsonii is a newly discovered bacterium, first identified in Saskatchewan in 2009. The symptoms of infection closely resemble those of B. hampsonii and lab tests are... Read More
Just because nitrogen fertilizer is placed below the soil surface doesn’t mean it’s going to stay there for plants to use it. In fact, if it’s not buried deep enough, you might be better off broadcasting it on top of the soil, says the senior agronomist for Koch Agronomic Services. Whether for equipment reasons, with... Read More
We’re staring down the barrel of the dreaded New Year’s Resolutions — you know, where you swear off treats, chocolate, booze and anything else fun hoping to whittle a few pounds off the midsection. Of course, if you’re like most people, you probably did the exact same thing last year, to no avail. The reasons... Read More