A new wave of genetically modified crops was approved for release in Canada in 2005. Roundup Ready alfalfa, Roundup Ready sugar beets and Herculex RW corn were all approved by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for food, feed and environmental release. The GM alfalfa and GM sugar beets represent a departure for […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Redirect check-off to organics?
Saskatchewan organic growers could be funding a new research and development commission but it won’t cost them any extra money. A ballot is going out to about 1,000 growers this week asking them if they would like to redirect their existing check-off dollars from a handful of commodity groups to establish the Saskatchewan Organic Commission. […] Read more
Bunge lukewarm to biodiesel plan
Canola growers may be boiling over with enthusiasm for biodiesel but the world’s largest oilseed crusher is lukewarm to some aspects of the alternative fuel. In an interview before his Jan. 12 presentation at Crop Production Week, Carl Hausmann, president and chief executive officer of Bunge North America, outlined some of his concerns with biodiesel. […] Read more
Big push coming for red lentil production
Canada should be able to double its share of the world trade in red lentils, say promoters of a new initiative. The objective of the Red Lentil Cropportunity Initiative is to increase Canada’s red lentil exports to 160,000 tonnes by 2010, which would account for 40 percent of the annual global trade of the crop. […] Read more
Pulse industry prepares health claims
Health care is on the agenda of politicians vying to be Canada’s new prime minister; it is also a burning issue in crop circles. Almost every commodity group is trumpeting the health benefits of their particular crop. Soy has its heart smart campaign, canola is leading the way on the zero trans fats issue and […] Read more
HT lentils given all clear
After lengthy negotiations stalled its release, BASF Canada and Saskatchewan Pulse Growers are now ready to unveil Clearfield lentils. A distribution agreement was scheduled to be announced at Crop Production Week 2006, which kicked off on Jan. 9. The deal paves the way for 2,750 bushels of herbicide tolerant lentil seed to be distributed royalty-free […] Read more
Monsanto denies lower price due to competition from FNA
Monsanto Canada says its decision to offer a cheaper version of Roundup Transorb has nothing to do with increased competition from imported generic glyphosate. “We don’t make our business decisions based on what other people do,” said Monsanto spokesperson Trish Jordan. “We basically make our pricing and business decisions based on the feedback we get […] Read more
Grain exports had busy autumn
Canadian grain exports were clipping along at a good pace as 2005 drew to a close. During the first five months of the 2005-06 sales campaign, exporters shipped 10.7 million tonnes of the eight major grains, oilseeds and pulses, up 1.4 million tonnes over the same period a year earlier, according to the Canadian Grain […] Read more
EU changes organic rule
A new organic regulation in Europe will have no impact on the one being developed in Canada, says the man in charge of that process. “It won’t change what we’re trying to do,” said Michel Saumur, project manager for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Organic Regime. A few days before Christmas the European Commission […] Read more
Organic sector has little to verify production numbers
Ask nearly anyone involved in organics how their sector is doing and they’ll tell you it’s clipping along at an annual growth rate of 15-20 percent. Those growth statistics are trotted out at conferences, they appear in annual reports and have even found their way onto the federal government’s Organic Production System Task Force web […] Read more
