Flax proponents remain hopeful that acreage could rebound this spring in Manitoba. In 2016, flax acres were 64,441 acres, based on Manitoba crop insurance figures. Flaxseed has steadily declined in the province over the last decade. The seeded area was about 250,000 acres in the late 2000s. Instead of flax, many Manitoba growers are opting […] Read more
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Health problems not sugar’s fault: industry official
TABER, Alta. — Sugar is not addictive, argues Sandra Marsden, president of the Canadian Sugar Institute. She said it’s a myth that particularly irks her. “Sugar does not have any of the properties of addictive substances,” she said. “Because sweet tastes are pleasurable doesn’t mean they are addictive.” It’s one of Marsden’s jobs to de-fend […] Read more
Canadian food prices among world’s lowest
It took the first 39 days of 2017 to reach Food Freedom Day in Canada, according to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. The organization annually calculates the date by which Canadians will have earned enough income, on average, to pay their grocery bill for the full year. It came Feb. 8, a day earlier than […] Read more
Ethanol makers get break
Higher oil prices and lower feed wheat costs are allowing ethanol plants to break even following a recent period of rough times. Brad Welter, president of Pound-Maker Agventures, Canada’s first integrated feedlot and ethanol facility, said it has been a tough slog in the ethanol business the last couple years. “It has been a long […] Read more
Trump’s Mexican strategy dismissed
OTTAWA (Reuters) — Although United States President Donald Trump says he wants to only tweak trade ties with Canada, his pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to focus on Mexico is almost impossible and Canada will not emerge unscathed, Canadian officials and trade experts warned recently. Trump had warm words for Canadian […] Read more
Rising nitrogen prices expected to stall
Wholesale nitrogen fertilizer prices that have been on the rise since the summer of 2016 will stay firm for the first half of 2017 and then slump, according to two major manufacturers of the product. Prices have been climbing be-cause of escalating coal costs, which have significantly curtailed Chinese urea production and exports. “In the […] Read more
Research institute retains gene editing patent rights
(Reuters) — The Broad Institute, a biological and genomic research centre affiliated with MIT and Harvard, will keep valuable patents on a revolutionary gene-editing technology known as CRISPR, a U.S. patent agency ruled recently. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board in Alexandria, Virginia, rejected a claim by a rival team, […] Read more
Farm income expected to drop
Canadian farmers likely earned their second-highest net cash income ever in 2016, down slightly from the 2015 record, says the federal government’s annual agricultural outlook. However, 2017 is not likely to be as rosy. Officials predict net cash income of $14.8 billion for 2016, down from $15.2 billion, and a further fall of $1 billion, […] Read more
Sask. launches massive drainage project
The Saskatchewan government has approved the first of what it expects will be many organized drainage projects under its Agricultural Water Management Strategy. The Dry Lake project in the rural municipalities of Montmartre and Fillmore southeast of Regina brought together 73 landowners and more than 18,000 acres under a single permit. “Under the old system, […] Read more
New hurdle for soybean herbicide
A new herbicide tolerant system for soybean growers is facing further delays. Balance GT soybeans recently received import approval from China, which was the last key importer to approve the trait. However, the system can’t be introduced until the Balance Bean herbicide receives regulatory approval in the United States. The original goal was to launch […] Read more
