The federal government is giving the Canadian grain industry another two months to voice their opinions on deferred cash grain tickets. On May 23, the federal finance department issued a statement confirming that the public consultation period on deferred cash purchase tickets for grain would be extended to July 24, 2017. The initial deadline had […] Read more
Farm Living
Realized net farm income up again
Realized net farm income has risen for the third year in a row, says Statistics Canada. The agency reported Wednesday that realized net farm income was $8.8 billion in 2016, up 7.6 percent. Realized net income is the difference between cash receipts and operating expenses, less depreciation, plus income in kind. The largest increase of […] Read more
Soggy forecast worries Canadian farmers in race to sow crops
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 23 (Reuters) – Heavy rain forecast for the soggiest parts of the Canadian Prairies this week is likely to further delay plantings in the world’s biggest canola exporting country, meteorologists say. The rain, forecast to hit Alberta and Saskatchewan on Wednesday and Thursday respectively, would be the latest blow to farmers who […] Read more
Census offers glimpse into modern agriculture
Prairie farmers are getting older — and younger. More than half are 55 and older, according to the 2016 Census of Agriculture. The 55.5 percent in that category is up nearly seven percentage points from the 2011 census. Bill Brown, head of the agricultural and resource economics department at the University of Saskatchewan, thinks the […] Read more
Shoppers armed with wants
Food makers and marketers urged to understand concerns of millennials and cater to their busy lifestyles
Karen Morrison attended the SIAL international food and trade show in Toronto and filed these reports TORONTO — Millennials are well travelled, have adventurous palates and are digitally connected, but they are also a generation with a social conscience. Delegates at the SIAL show were told it’s important to understand how these characteristics affect what […] Read more
Canadians mark importance of Battle of Vimy Ridge
In April, about 25,000 Canadians came together at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in northern France to honour the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Tim Cook, an author and military historian of the First World War at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, was on hand for the moving memorial. Of particular […] Read more
Vimy gives students a history lesson
The past is sometimes repeated, and that’s why Saskatchewan history teacher Brenda Doud has been taking students overseas for more than a decade. With one eye on the world’s war history and the other on current-day political turmoil, Doud led a group of 62 rural parents and high school students to France to mark the […] Read more
Couple passionate about agriculture, family
STEINBACH, Man. — Sitting at her round, oak kitchen table, Kirsty Oswald pulled off a trick that she’s likely used before to amuse a visitor to her home. In a matter of seconds Kirsty transformed, seemingly, into a different person because she switched from a neutral Canadian accent to a genuine Scottish burr. “When I […] Read more
Food retailers must adjust to changing diversity
TORONTO — The Canadian population has more than doubled in the last 60 years with most growth happening in the West and coming mainly from newcomers. “If we didn’t have immigration, we’d start to stagnate,” said Joshua Levi, director of business development with Environics Analytics. He said Canada is one of the few G8 countries […] Read more
Artificial intelligence may help reduce food waste
TORONTO — Artificial intelligence will allow food producers to process a host of data from fuel prices to weather patterns to make better decisions. “It’s designing a model that allows us to learn from the past to predict the future,” said Sylvain Charlebois, dean of the faculty of management at Dalhousie University. “Over time, you […] Read more
