Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has issued a pair of rail safety advisories aimed at improving rail safety and preventing uncontrolled train movements on mountain grades. The advisories were issued to Transport Canada on April 11 and stem from TSB’s investigation of a deadly train derailment earlier this year near Field, B.C., that killed three Canadian […] Read more
Author Archives
Seed royalty talks remain on track
Online consultations surrounding the controversial issue of farm-saved seed royalties are on track to be launched this spring, according to an official from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Anthony Parker, commissioner of the Plant Breeders Rights Office at the CFIA, says Ottawa aims to launch the online portion of seed royalty discussions before June 21. […] Read more
Thunder Bay starts shipping season
The 2019 shipping season is off to a good start at the Port of Thunder Bay. The first ship of the year arrived at the port March 28, according to Tim Heney, chief executive officer of the Thunder Bay Port Authority. The MV Kaministiqua, owned by Lower Lakes Towing, took a load of grain from […] Read more
CN to appeal federal ruling on freight embargoes
The Canadian Transportation Agency has ruled that Canadian National Railway breached its level of service obligations to shippers in the Canadian pulp industry when it announced plans to impose rail freight embargoes on the pulp and paper industry last September. The CTA’s findings were the result of an investigation launched by the agency in January […] Read more
Traffic volumes cited in CTA investigation report
UPDATE – 1100 April 16, 2019 CST – The CTA released its final report on this issue April 15, 2019. You can find that updated story here. A federal investigation into rail freight service issues in Vancouver last year has identified increased traffic as a potential contributing factor behind service delays and congestion. In a […] Read more
Seed royalty talks still on track, but decision unlikely before federal election
On-line consultations surrounding the controversial issue of farm-saved seed royalties are on track to be launched this spring, according to an official from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Anthony Parker, commissioner of the Plant Breeders Rights Office at the CFIA, says Ottawa aims to launch the on-line portion of seed royalty discussions before June 21. […] Read more
Canola oil shipments remain unaffected
Shipments of Canadian canola oil and canola meal are continuing to move to China, according to a senior canola industry official. Brian Innes, vice-president of public affairs at the Canola Council of Canada, said oil and meal sales to China have not been affected by a trade dispute that’s currently affecting canola seed exports. “Oil […] Read more
Durum genome project hailed as key accomplishment
A team of international researchers has sequenced the durum genome, an accomplishment that will contribute to the development of new and more productive durum wheat varieties for growers in Canada and around the world. “It’s a big accomplishment,” said Curtis Pozniak, a University of Saskatchewan durum breeder who played a key role in the project. […] Read more
Calculating the cost of a carbon tax
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan says crop sector could see costs increase by $2 to $4 an acre
Saskatchewan’s general farm organization has come up with an estimate of how much the federal carbon tax will cost the province’s grain and oilseed producers. And the figure likely won’t sit well with farmers. According to number crunchers at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, average production costs will increase by $2 an acre in […] Read more
Prairie farming: ‘a lifetime apprenticeship’
On the Farm: West-central Sask. farmer says he faces many challenges but enjoys learning something new every day
Making a living as a grain farmer in west-central Saskatchewan can be a challenging and stressful occupation. Between weather problems, disease pressures, insects, market disruptions, transportation issues, rising production costs and activism by consumer groups and environmentalists, the list of factors conspiring against the prairie farmer can sometimes seem endless. Yet Jim Wickett has no […] Read more
