A bad taste is all that remains of what was supposed to be a ground-breaking joint venture between a Saskatchewan Indian band and an Alberta hog barn promoter. “I think it’s just really unfortunate that the political situation in the aboriginal community hijacked the business opportunity,” said Bob Coulter, speaking for Synergetik Special Projects. Synergetik […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Grain companies contest Naber Seed receivership
While most of the dust has settled in the Naber Seed case, a group of grain companies and Naber’s former bank are still kicking up a storm. They are in a legal dispute over proceeds from the sale of yellow peas amounting to approximately $500,000 US. As part of that court battle, the grain companies, […] Read more
Ont. gov’t gets say in Schmeiser appeal
The government of Ontario is weighing in on the legal dispute between Percy Schmeiser and Monsanto Canada Inc. It is one of a number of groups granted intervener status in the appeal, which is scheduled to be tried in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on Jan. 20, 2004. Interveners provide written or oral […] Read more
Alta. crop insurance claims down sharply
Crop insurance claims in Alberta are a fraction of what they were in 2002. Merle Jacobson, senior manager of insurance operations at Agriculture Financial Services Corp., said the company will pay producers $170 million on 12,000 claims. That compares to $800 million on 30,000 claims in 2002, a year in which many farmers had complete […] Read more
Hogs won’t fill piggy bank this year
Being in the hog industry stinks these days. Experts at the 2003 Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium said producers and packers have been flattened by a variety of unforeseen circumstances. “We usually have a situation where one is winning and one is losing, but when it’s something like the Canadian dollar strengthening, it’s impacting everybody,” said […] Read more
Sask. agriculture group stung by rejection
The gloves are off in a dispute be-tween two organizations vying to be the voice of Saskatchewan farmers. Earlier this month at its annual convention, the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities said it is time for the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan to find a new source of funding. That salvo wasn’t well received. “I […] Read more
Crop insurance claims down sharply
Preliminary results indicate crop insurance programs in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were not relied upon nearly as heavily this year as they were in 2002. Officials with Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. did not return calls on the subject. Saskatchewan’s program experienced the most dramatic decline in activity, facing about 50,000 claims at the mid-November deadline, […] Read more
Pulse traders accuse U.S. firms of abusing farm aid
Canadian pulse processors claim their counterparts in the United States are distorting bean and lentil markets by bending farm aid rules. In a letter sent to Pulse Canada and the Canadian Special Crops Association, former CSCA president Scott Cunningham said American firms are using Canadian product in PL480 food aid programs, which is against the […] Read more
U.S. pulse threat didn’t come to pass
Pulse crop pundits used words like horrid, devastating and disturbing to describe the inclusion of peas, lentils and chickpeas in American subsidy programs introduced in 2002. One Canadian trader said, “the pulse party could be over,” referring to the anticipated massive growth in U.S. pulse acreage. But two years into the new farm bill era, […] Read more
Pasta group won’t quit
Last November the chair of Prairie Pasta Producers was in a celebratory mood after inking a deal allowing his members to invest in America’s third largest pasta company. It was the first bit of good news for a floundering project besieged by a series of setbacks. But with the option to purchase shares in Dakota […] Read more
