From his west coast vantage point, Stan Vander Waal isn’t sure that carbon taxes do what proponents say: change behaviour to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The chair of the British Columbia Agriculture Council and owner of Chilliwack-based Rainbow Greenhouses has had nine years to observe the tax in practice. He said his operation was already […] Read more
News
Scientists find surprise in soil’s freeze-thaw cycle: nitrous oxide emissions
For decades, soil scientists have studied nitrous oxide emissions from cropland during the growing season because they assumed that most emissions occurred from May until October. A University of Guelph and University of Manitoba study, published earlier this year, suggests that is incorrect. In cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere, like Western Canada and northeastern […] Read more
Fort McMurray business owner bristles at red tape over animals
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — The Clearwater River flows gently beside Dunvegan Gardens but the hills surrounding the garden centre, greenhouse and market garden show how close the fire of 2016 came to shattering the calm. Like much of the area around this northern Alberta city, blackened tree trunks stand as stark reminders of a disaster […] Read more
‘Significant differences’ hinder U.S.-EU trade talks
The National Pork Producers Council wants trade representatives to focus on bilateral deals with Japan, Malaysia or Vietnam
DES MOINES, Iowa — In early June, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he’s open to restarting free trade talks with the European Union. Those talks have been stalled since last fall, when Americans elected Donald Trump as president. Ross may be willing to resume negotiations, but the National Pork Producers Council in the United […] Read moreAgrium-PotashCorp merger selects name
Nutrien will be the new name of the merger between Agrium and PotashCorp. The companies said that once the anticipated merger transaction closes, the new company will use the name that was selected from more than 4,000 suggestions from employees. The regulatory review and approval process for the merger transaction continues and the parties expect […] Read more
Research success could speed hybrid crop work
Tim Sharbel is working on a “totally disruptive” breeding technique that could transform agriculture. “If this works this is one of those dream technologies, the golden ring,” said the director of the seed and developmental biology program at the Global Institute for Food Security. “It’s worth billions. Whoever cracks this is going to win the […] Read more
Palmer amaranth: weed seed doppelganger
Concerns over the presence of Palmer amaranth in the United States are beginning to reverberate through the Canadian forage seed industry. Palmer amaranth is an invasive weed common throughout much of the U.S. Its presence has not been confirmed on the Canadian Prairies but south of the border, its destructive potential is widely known. The […] Read more
Feed imports not high risk for FMD: CFIA
U.S. research has shown that imported feed ingredients, including soybean meal, could transport foreign animal diseases into North America. However, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency isn’t especially worried about imports of soybeans or soybean meal from places such as China or India because those feed ingredients are unlikely to be infected with a hazardous virus. […] Read more
Call it ‘bunk’ when it’s ‘bunk’: professor
Smearing feces on the face for that healthy glow is one of the many jaw-dropping things celebrities promote, says Timothy Caulfield, author and university professor. “The Beckhams actually put bird poo on their face. It’s nightingale bird poo, so it’s very sophisticated. But it’s bird poo,” saidCaufield, who works at the faculty of law and […] Read more
Farmers restore Canadian war bomber
‘We didn’t know it was impossible, so we did it,’ say Fairview farmers who restored Canso PBY-5A airplane
FAIRVIEW, Alta. — Dreams took flight June 18 for six farmers from Fairview and for a community of volunteers who shared in their vision. The Canso PBY-5A soared that day for the first time in 16 years, the last nine of them spent in restoration. As one of only 13 Canso aircraft still listed as […] Read more
