Farm income and debt figures released last week by Statistics Canada indicate a financially strong sector, said Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist J.P. Gervais. The federal agency holds a sizable chunk of the total $96 billion in outstanding debt as of 2016, but farmers also recorded record realized net income of $8.8 billion, an increase […] Read more
News
New guide helps identify cutworms
This is the time to scout fields for cutworms, and this year farmers have a new resource to help them identify type. Twenty-one species are itemized in Cutworm Pests of Crops on the Canadian Prairies, an identification and management field guide prepared by Agriculture Canada entomologist and researcher Kevin Floate. About seven of those species […] Read more
Alberta plans loans to speed well reclamation
A loan to Alberta’s Orphan Well Association is being proposed by the Alberta government to assist in reclaiming about 152,000 abandoned or inactive oil and gas sites. The government proposes to borrow $235 million for the loan and provide it to the OWA at a more favourable interest rate than it could access on its […] Read more
Crop report
Alberta SOUTH Seeding progress is 88 percent complete while 47 percent of crops have emerged. Pasture and tame hay conditions are 72 percent good and 21 percent excellent. Conditions for fall seeded crops are 66 percent good and 27 percent excellent. CENTRAL About 67 percent of crops are seeded with almost 15 percent emerged. Pasture […] Read more
Stop, thief!
Crime is up in municipalities across the Prairies. In central Saskatchewan, property crime rates have jumped 18 percent over the past six years, according to the RCMP. Meanwhile, the population in many rural areas is declining, meaning there are fewer eyes around to keep thieves in check.
Saskatchewan RCMP has “redeployed” to address the increase of rural crime, but it has also admitted that it lacks the resources to stem the rising crime trend. Under the provincial police service agreement, the budget translates into about 920 policing positions for all of rural Saskatchewan. During the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities convention this […] Read moreDry weather lifts spring wheat, but canola falls again
Dry weather in some of the U.S. Northern Plains and in the south of the Canadian Prairies and a concern about wheat protein levels lifted Minneapolis spring wheat Thursday. Canola futures fell for a seventh straight session, weakened by fund selling and technical weakness despite delays in seeding the crop in parts of the Prairies. […] Read more
Property crimes common in Western Canada
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia had higher rural crime rates than any other province in 2013, according to data from Statistics Canada. Based on the number of violent and non-violent criminal code convictions recorded in 2013, Saskatchewan led all provinces in rural crimes with 13,080 criminal convictions for every 100,000 rural residents. Manitoba was […] Read more
Alberta farm workers gain the right to unionize: what happens now?
Provincial government’s Fair and Family friendly Workplaces Act will affect non-family paid workers on farms and ranches
Farm workers in Alberta will have the option to unionize once new provincial government labour legislation is passed. Labour minister Christina Gray announced amendments May 24 to the labour relations code and the employment standards code, dubbed the Fair and Family-friendly Workplaces Act. The amendments reach into all employment sectors in the province and some […] Read more
Agrium expands retail network
Agrium is not building new fertilizer plants, but it is going to continue expanding the retail side of its business. “It is something we remain committed to and something that has been very lucrative for us,” chief financial officer Steve Douglas told investors attending BMO Capital Markets’ annual Farm to Market conference. Agrium has spent […] Read more
Saskatchewan crop roughly 80 percent seeded — report
WINNIPEG, June 1 (CNS) – Farmers in Saskatchewan have planted about 81 percent of this year’s crop, according to the provincial crop report. That is slightly behind the five-year pace of 82 percent. The report covers the week to May 29. The southeast corner of the province is the farthest along and the northeast is […] Read more
