Ottawa has announced $28 million in support for Prince Edward Island potato growers affected by the export ban due to potato wart. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Dec. 20 the funding would also help redirect potatoes to food banks and other organizations as well as support the environmentally sound disposal of surpluses. She said […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
House ag committee selects new chair
Kody Blois, a Liberal MP from Nova Scotia, is the new chair of the standing committee on agriculture. Conservative Alberta MP John Barlow and Bloc Quebecois MP Yves Perron are vice-chairs. The committee held its first meeting yesterday, and Blois said before the members got down to official business that in his two previous years […] Read more
Trial date set for former researcher
A former federal research scientist at the Swift Current research centre will go to trial after a preliminary hearing earlier this week. Yantai Gan, 65, was charged in November 2019 and released on conditions until the hearing Dec. 13-14. On Dec. 16, he was bound over for trial in Court of Queen’s Bench but a […] Read more
Feds blasted on foreign worker safety
Canada’s auditor general had scathing words for the federal department tasked with protecting temporary foreign workers on farms during COVID-19. Karen Hogan last week released four performance audits into COVID-19 programs, including how the government would ensure access to food if shortages developed and another on governance at the Canadian Dairy Commission. Employment and Social […] Read more
Former Ag Canada scientist appears in court
An internationally recognized federal research scientist based in Swift Current, Sask., appeared in court Dec. 13 after a 21-month investigation by the RCMP’s national security enforcement section. Yantai Gan, 65, was charged with breach of trust, fraud over $5,000 and possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000 on Nov. 19, 2019, after a search […] Read more
Federal program focuses on ag communication
The AgriCommunication Initiative is intended to help farmers share their stories with the public to increase awareness
The federal government last week announced funding for a new program to help connect consumers and farmers. Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau launched the first stream of the AgriCommunication Initiative alongside members of the Canadian Agricultural Youth Council. She said the council represents the sector’s next ambassadors. “More than anyone else, you are facing the challenges […] Read more
Irrigation work continues behind the scenes
Work to date on the $4 billion Saskatchewan project has included consultation, soil sampling and preliminary design
The proposed irrigation expansion at Lake Diefenbaker is far from shovel-ready and the project is moving more slowly than some irrigators would like. Several attending the Irrigation Saskatchewan conference last week wanted a firm timeline on when work would be done. Dwayne Gelowitz from Clifton Associates, speaking on behalf of the three engineering companies serving […] Read more
Snowfall on Prairies expected to be sufficient this winter
Near normal to above normal amounts of snow are expected from December to February, but colder temperatures likely
Nutrien’s atmospheric scientist predicts that enough snow is coming this winter to help alleviate some of the drought conditions on the Canadian Prairies. Eric Snodgrass told the Grain Expo during Canadian Western Agribition that the models show near normal to above normal snowfall in December, January and February. That snow will come with falling temperatures, […] Read more
Agribition draws Gelbvieh from U.S.
Samee and Pete Charriere made the trip from Washington state and saw their bull named senior division calf champion
It was the 50th show for some, but Samee Charriere exhibited cattle at Canadian Western Agribition for the first time this year. She and her husband, Pete, came from Clarkston, Washington, with a bull calf after earning entry into the Beef Supreme with a win at the Northern International Livestock Exposition in Billings, Montana. The […] Read more
Genetic data sharing program takes another step forward
Canadian Beef Improvement Network will work with a Calgary company to create a multi-breed information platform
The Canadian Beef Improvement Network has announced that Xerris Inc. of Calgary will help the industry create a unified data platform to share genetic information. The CBIN, under the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, is working to share genetic information across breeds and throughout the beef production system. Recently, Results Driven Agriculture Research announced it would […] Read more
