Canadian farmers are making money hand over fist, according to a new report from Agriculture Canada. Aggregate net cash income for 2014 is projected at $14 billion, 10 percent higher than the previous record. The preliminary forecast for 2015 is for net cash income to fall to $13 billion, but that would still be 21 […] Read more
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Canada lacks presence in China
A strategy is needed to improve market access and expand food exports, says trade official
Other food exporters are outflanking Canada in China, says the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. “With some noteworthy exceptions, Canadian food and beverages largely remain off the radar for most Chinese consumers and retailers,” said CAPI president David McInnes. The report is based on a networking trip to China last November, when a Canadian delegation visited […] Read more
What beef can learn from wine marketers
The cattle business could learn a few tricks from the wine industry, says Canada Beef’s market development director. Stylish, sentimental television commercials and that memorable tagline — “we will sell no wine before its time” — helped Ernest and Julio Gallo become household names in the 1980s. They also helped sell a few bottles of […] Read more
Pharmaceutical residues costly to producers
Tainted meat recalls cost money and tarnish the reputation of the meat industry, says a food safety official
Pharmaceutical residues can sneak into market hogs even when producers are being careful, says Maple Leaf Foods’ vice-president for safety. And when they do, it costs significant money and endangers the reputations of farmers and meat companies. “Somebody’s got to pay,” Sharon Beals told the Manitoba Swine Seminar Feb. 5. “It comes out of somebody’s […] Read more
Power line need, route still questioned
Alberta landowners want the province to re-evaluate the need for the line under current economic conditions
A power line proposed for southwestern Alberta continues to raise objections from landowners. The exact route of the $500 million AltaLink transmission line from Castle Rock Ridge to Chapel Rock has yet to be determined, but the Livingstone Landowners Group does not like any of the options. It questions whether the line is needed at […] Read more
Swede midge threat remains small out West
Swede midge is not a serious threat to prairie canola crops, at least for now, says an Agriculture Canada entomologist. The pest has been in northeastern Saskatchewan for years and is spreading to other parts of the Prairies, but research suggests the type of Swede midge found on the Prairies isn’t as damaging as the […] Read more
Gaps in feed ban may be source of BSE infection: CFIA
Gaps in Canada’s early feed ban that allowed specified risk material from cattle to get into feed might have caused the country’s latest BSE case. Paul Mayer, vice-president of policy and programs with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said the feed ban that was implemented in 1997 was not as comprehensive as the enhanced feed […] Read more
Succession plans important but not always done
Yet according to an Ipsos survey, more than 70 percent of producers who plan to transfer farm ownership to a family member don’t have a succession plan in place. Bruce Tait, senior vice-president of agriculture with accounting firm MNP, said farmers have struggled with the concept of farm succession planning. However, the message is slowly getting out. […] Read more
Land, equipment purchases on horizon for many farmers
The amount of debt carried by Canadian farmers has never been higher, but producers don’t appear overly concerned
Survey respondents with annual sales of more than $1 million are even more likely to buy land, machinery and other major assets this year, the survey found. Thirty-four percent of farmers who reported sales of more than $1 million a year said they were somewhat likely to buy more land this year, while 47 percent […] Read more
Wolf culling test in Sask. produces few results
Despite demands from cattle producers to kill wolves to protect cattle, studies show it doesn’t always work
About six weeks are left in a wolf pilot project in northeastern Saskatchewan to determine if culling will reduce livestock losses. So far, the results aren’t positive. “Some of the objectives are to actually find out whether a project of this sort works,” said Mike Gollop of the province’s environment ministry. The fur and problem […] Read more
