It costs as much as a full-sized combine, but Agriculture Canada’s plot combine is designed to suit research needs, not high-volume harvest. The Lethbridge research and de-velopment centre had the machine on display March 1-3 at Ag Expo, southern Alberta’s largest agricultural trade show. Ryan Dyck, agronomy technician with Agriculture Canada in Leth-bridge, said the […] Read more
News
Producers told to be on guard against salmonella
Common house flies, beetles, rats and mice can carry the bacteria, so pest management in barns is critical
RED DEER, Alta. — When Susan Schafers was told that her Alberta egg farm had tested positive for salmonella, she and her staff shifted to high gear to evaluate bio-security. Her farm at Stony Plain tested positive for Salmonella heidelberg and typhimurium strains. Both can make human sick, she told a poultry research forum held […] Read moreBrazil soy crop estimate raised
SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) — The 2016-17 Brazilian soybean crop could reach 109.07 million tonnes, almost 15 million tonnes more than in the previous season, as record yields in several states boost output prospects, broker and analyst INTL FCStone said March 7. The new projection is the most optimistic so far among independent analysts. The […] Read more
Unemployment falls in Canada and U.S.
Canada’s economy created 15,300 jobs in February, much more than the expectation of just 2,500. The unemployment rate fell to 6.6 percent, down .2 percentage points, and there was good progress in hiring for full-time jobs. The report helped lift the cloud over the economy, which is troubled by uncertainties such as U.S. trade policy […] Read more
Bayer, Monsanto start asset sale
FRANKFURT, Germany (Reuters) — Bayer and Monsanto are launching asset sales worth US$2.5 billion as they seek regulatory clearance for their $66 billion merger, sources close to the matter said. To kick off an auction process, Bayer’s advisers will send out information packages this week to prospective bidders for the businesses, which have been divided […] Read more
U.S. farm groups unite in market promotion push
With trade deals being cancelled by President Trump and threats of tariffs on U.S. products, associations fear the loss of export markets
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — U.S. farm groups want the federal government to double what it spends on promoting crops in export markets. Ron Moore, president of the American Soybean Association, said the United States is spending less than one-quarter of the US$1 billion the European Union spends on market promotion. The group wants to see […] Read moreRussian winter grains thriving
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Russian winter grains have been largely unaffected by December-February weather and are doing better than usual, a state weather forecaster said March 7, suggesting good prospects for the 2017 crop. Russia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters to North Africa and the Middle East, harvested a record grain crop of […] Read more
Alarm bells ring over growing fungicide resistance: pathologist
Problems growing in the United States, but prairie pulse agronomist says it’s also a worry in Canada
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Fungicide resistance could be the next big crop input challenge facing farmers, say experts. “We’re not at the level of severity that we see currently with herbicide resistant weeds, but we are at the very beginning of it,” Carl Bradley, plant pathologist with the University of Kentucky, told reporters during a […] Read moreNFU seeks farmer input on treatment at elevators
The National Farmers Union is conducting a farmer survey to learn more about how grain growers are being treated when they deliver grain to a country elevator. “The NFU is starting to hear repeated stories of grain farmers being dissatisfied with their treatment by elevator companies,” said NFU president Jan Slomp. “We are hearing stories […] Read more
Study to tally carbon tax cost to commodity sector
Supply managed groups want to examine price increases throughout the supply chain to determine the impact on agriculture
RED DEER — Alberta commodity groups want to learn the true costs to their businesses since the provincial carbon levy went into effect earlier this year. The supply managed groups of chicken, turkey, eggs, hatching eggs and dairy as well as Alberta Pork want to work with the province to examine the added costs from […] Read more
