As a United Nations organization put a spotlight on global food safety issues, a Saskatchewan-based researcher had high praise for Canada’s system of checks and balances. The World Health Organization used its annual World Health Day last week to focus on issues of food-borne illnesses and safety risks in global supply chains that ship meat […] Read more
Stories by Dan Yates
Bird flu continues to spread across Canada, U.S.
Canada has restricted poultry imports from several states; importing broiler hatching eggs has become a ‘logistic headache’
An outbreak of avian influenza continued its spread last week with new cases reported in Canada and the United States. Canadian officials reported the disease’s appearance April 6 on a turkey farm near Woodstock, Ont. It was later confirmed to be the same deadly H5N2 strain that appeared in British Columbia in December and across […] Read more
Food illness triggered from organic products
As a United Nations organization put a spotlight on global food safety issues, a Saskatchewan-based researcher had high praise for Canada’s system of checks and balances. The World Health Organization used its annual World Health Day last week to focus on issues of food-borne illnesses and safety risks in global supply chains that ship meat […] Read more
Canada has world-class food safety system
As a United Nations organization put a spotlight on global food safety issues, a Saskatchewan-based researcher had high praise for Canada’s system of checks and balances. The World Health Organization used its annual World Health Day last week to focus on issues of food-borne illnesses and safety risks in global supply chains that ship meat […] Read more
Bird flu continues to spread
An outbreak of avian influenza continued its spread this week with new cases reported in Canada and the United States. Canadian officials reported the disease’s appearance Monday on a turkey farm near Woodstock, Ont. It was later confirmed to be the same deadly H5N2 strain that appeared in British Columbia in December and across several […] Read more
When in doubt, dig deeper
WATROUS, Sask. — Sometimes farmers need to dig a little deeper, says a University of Saskatchewan soil scientist. A six-inch soil test will give farmers a good read on things like phosphorus and potassium, but other micronutrients are more mobile. “I think it’s always, especially under wet conditions, a good idea to occasionally check below […] Read more
More research, rules needed on plant growth regulators
Plant growth regulators could be an important tool for high input cereal growers, but officials are urging farmers to move slowly. Interest in PGRs has been high since Engage Agro’s Manipulator, which has the active ingredient chlormequat, was approved for use in Canada last year in spring and winter wheat crops. The product is intended […] Read more
Fight fusarium with rotation, fungicide
WATROUS, Sask. — There’s good news and bad news when it comes to fusarium head blight. Many Saskatchewan fields are still recovering from several years of saturated soils, and farmers can expect to see the disease again this year, says Stewart Brandt of the Northeast Agriculture Research Foundation in Melfort, Sask. However, while genetic resistance […] Read more
Research tool not used to the max
A sophisticated imaging machine at the University of Saskatchewan is under-used in plant research, says an official with the Canadian Light Source. The facility has seen greater use by soil chemists, but projects have shown that the technology also has “huge potential” for variety development. “We took the initiative ourselves to demonstrate to people what […] Read more
Farmers should welcome nature’s architect
The wetlands that result when beavers build dams contribute to higher water tables, which boost crop and forage production
Lorne Fitch can’t put a number on it, but he knows beaver populations are up from recent decades. And while the wetland architects can be a headache for producers by flooding roads, fields and pastures with dams that retain water and expand wetlands, the riparian specialist with Cows and Fish in Alberta said there’s room […] Read more
