Almost all organic food in Alberta is legitimately organic, but there’s a chance that’s not the case for organic produce, meat or grain sold by farmers directly to consumers. The Alberta government has no legislation requiring organic food to be certified if it is produced and sold within the province. “Without these (provincial) regulations right […] Read more
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Is all organic food really organic? Maybe not
Lost generation of farmers becomes apparent
ag census Farmers are older than they once were. It’s an obvious point, but in this case it appears, from the data, that the lost generations of prairie farms are starting to turn up missing from the middle years. The Canadian Census of Agriculture data for 2016 shows producers older than 55 are growing in […] Read more
Canada to modernize statistics agency, data collection
OTTAWA (Reuters) — The federal government plans to modernize Statistics Canada, including identifying new ways of collecting data and making it easier for people and businesses to find and use the information. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told business leaders at an Environics Analytics event in Toronto that Canada wants to become a leader in an […] Read more
Alberta bears brunt of hail damage
The heat of July has spawned numerous hailstorms across the Prairies, with Alberta recording the highest number of storms and Manitoba relatively unscathed. The Canadian Crop Hail Association said in its July report that the few storms experienced in all three prairie provinces have produced little rain, but crops in southern Alberta and southern Saskatchewan […] Read more
Farm programs need more than tinkering: farm groups
Farm organizations are pinning their hopes for change on the one-year review of business risk management programs. The clock is ticking on the process, but the review parameters haven’t yet been announced. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said tinkering around the edges, as was done in the recent changes announced for AgriStability and […] Read more
Dairy sector feels safe
EDMONTON — Dairy Farmers of Canada remains confident it has continuing support for supply management. “The strategy is to continue to be agile and build trust and good relationships with government. We do have that,” said government relations director Isabelle Bouchard. “The prime minister has been very supportive of our industry,” she said at the […] Read more
Meat goal could reduce crop exports
The organization that establishes China’s dietary guidelines wants to curb the country’s insatiable appetite for meat. Average per capita meat consumption has increased six-fold since 1978 and shows no signs of slowing down. It is the primary reason global investors are long-term bullish about agriculture. But China is concerned about the mounting health and environmental […] Read more
BoC may hike interest rates in October
Bank of Canada OTTAWA (Reuters) — With no public speeches scheduled before its September interest rate decision, the Bank of Canada has signaled it is comfortable with market expectations that a rate hike won’t happen until October at the earliest, analysts say. The central bank’s July rate hike, the first in seven years, was preceded […] Read more
Renewable fuel standard tossed out by U.S. appeals court
environment NEW YORK (Reuters) —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency erred when setting standards for how much renewable fuel must be included in fuel sold in the United States, a U.S. court ruled last week, and ordered the agency to try again. The EPA had sought to lower the amount of biofuel that needed to be […] Read more
Innovation must be tested in real world
While hog nutritionist can develop theories from small trials, knowing what is happening in large barns is essential
As the hog industry becomes more integrated, small changes in nutrition can have significant financial impacts across large systems. That means swine nutritionists and academics must think about what level of research evidence is needed for changes to be implemented at the farm level. That is one conundrum facing swine nutrition, according to John Patience, […] Read more
