Research funding provided through Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund will continue to be about $7 million this year, despite troubling signals that the provincial economy is beginning to cool. Saskatchewan agriculture minister Lyle Stewart and federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz last week announced ADF funding worth $6.9 million. The 60-40 funding arrangement will support 42 crop-related […] Read more
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Sask. government announces $7 million for crop research
China increases fake rain initiatives
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — China aims to induce more than 60 billion cubic metres of additional rain a year by 2020 by using an “artificial weather” program. The country’s water resources are among the world’s lowest at 2,100 cubic metres per person, or just 28 percent of the world average. Shortages are particularly severe in […] Read more
Corporate scrutiny may be here to stay
Farmers may not like filling out sustainability forms, but they better get used to it and soon, says a baking industry leader. Walmart, Unilever and other Fortune 100 corporations have entrenched sustainability into their business models, and they are exerting pressure on suppliers. Paul Hetherington, president of the Baking Association of Canada, said there was […] Read more
Competition for land use will challenge farms
Acreages, mines, well sites and cities continue to alter the Alberta landscape
In the last 100 years, Alberta has cultivated 27 million acres, put livestock on 35 million acres, built towns and cities on more than 617,000 acres, put acreages on 840,000 acres and used more than 2.5 million acres for energy sector development. The result? Four million people, a gross domestic product of $40 billion from […] Read moreDetermination trumps challenge
Might we measure our life by asking what handicaps we’ve faced and how we’ve moved ahead. As CBC radio broadcaster Michael Enright reviewed the life of Dr. Vera Peters recently, I marvelled at how many challenges she overcame. In the 1930s, when she graduated from medical school, women were not accepted as scientists. However, she […] Read more
Pesticide tolerance levels worry grower groups
Canadian commodity groups would like future free trade agreements to include a clause saying the partners accept the results of global joint reviews on pesticides. Poor countries used to rely on Codex, a United Nations body, to establish maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides. However, Codex is way behind schedule, leading to massive delays in […] Read more
Feed mills could gain access to security program
There is a good chance the Canadian Grain Commission will expand its producer payment security program to include feed mills. “The (federal agriculture) minister has suggested he wants us to look at it and producer groups have suggested we should move in that direction, so we’re complying with what government wants and what stakeholders want,” […] Read more
No agreement on component pricing for canola
Canola group presents information about component pricing, but says issue requires further study
A Saskatoon farmer said he thinks the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission is dragging its feet on its study of component pricing. A resolution was tabled at last year’s annual general meeting asking the SaskCanola board to explore the pluses and minuses of moving to a system that would feature rewards and penalties based on oil […] Read moreWeather system strikes cocoa
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) — A worse than anticipated Harmattan weather phenomenon has damaged trees in Ivory Coast’s main cocoa growing regions, raising fears it could curtail production of the country’s main crop. The Harmattan wind blows in from the Sahara every year during Ivory Coast’s November-to-March dry season, but farmers say the effects have […] Read more
Earning trust of millennials hard, says farmer
Science-based defence of farm practices isn’t necessarily enough to appease skeptical consumers, says Alberta farmer
By Jeffrey Carter RIDGETOWN, Ont. — Farmers have little choice but to address the demands of consumers, says an Alberta farmer. John Kolk, who farms near Picture Butte, said that may mean building a convincing argument in defence of legitimate agricultural practices or acknowledging the values consumers hold and bending to their demands. Kolk said […] Read more
