SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) — Australia will export up to one million head of cattle a year to China once a long-awaited deal is signed. The agreement, which is expected to be signed shortly, would be worth around $970 million a year and help meet a growing appetite for red meat. Australian agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce […] Read more
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Australia, China cattle deal estimated at $970M per year
Inmates gain woodworking skills by building birds new homes
Bluebirds and jailbirds have helped each other out. Goldie Weeks does not use the latter term, but the former instructor at the Lethbridge Correctional Centre did involve inmates in building mountain bluebird nest boxes. The result was a useful teaching program at the correctional centre as well as birdhouses that support Alberta’s mountain bluebird population. […] Read more
Pig shortage won’t be fixed by barn retrofits
Major processors under capacity | Good prices have already brought closed barns back into production
Manitoba farmers closed dozens of hog barns in the late 2000s when sky-high feed prices and depressed pig prices made it financially difficult to raise hogs. Moderate feed costs and robust pig prices have now reversed the situation, and a few producers have re-entered the business and re-populated existing barns. However, retrofitting old barns isn’t […] Read moreBreeder annoyed GM given credit for yield hikes
Assumptions called misleading | Give ‘plain old plant breeding’ credit for corn yield increases, not GM technology: researcher
Brian Rossnagel is tired of proponents of genetically modified crops attributing all the yield increases in corn, soybeans and canola to biotechnology. “They overstate the case,” said the retired University of Saskatchewan oat and barley breeder. Groups such as the U.S. National Association of Wheat Growers are making the case for GM wheat by pointing […] Read moreOrganic certification changes take size into consideration
DRESDEN, Ont. — There’s a move afoot that could bring more farmers into the organic fold. It’s one possible outcome if changes to Canada’s current organic certification process are introduced to address the concerns of small diversified producers. Tony McQuail, an organic farmer in southwestern Ontario, is part of the Working Group on Small Scale […] Read more
Germany reports first case of bird flu strain in Europe
PARIS (Reuters) — Germany has detected a highly pathogenic bird flu strain, which hit Asia severely but has never been reported in Europe, says the World Organization for Animal Health. Turkeys were found infected with the H5N8 serotype of the disease Nov. 4 on a farm in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the organization, also […] Read more
Supports for flooded out farmers fall short: APAS
WHITEWOOD, Sask. — Farmers who are frustrated by five or more years of flooding say they need better policies and infrastructure. Delegates at recent Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan district meetings said improvements to crop insurance coverage would help. A policy paper that APAS developed notes that unseeded acreage is covered at $70 per acre […] Read more
Chemical concerns spur microbial based ag products
Plant stimulant | Inocucor Technologies claims its microbial product can boost crop yields by 10 to 15 percent
A Montreal-based manufacturer of “yeast and bacteria” believes its biological product can make the leap to large-scale agriculture. Inocucor Technologies announced last month a partnership with McGill University researchers to develop products for commercial crops such as soybeans, canola and wheat that use microbes to stimulate plant growth. The initiative adds to a growing list […] Read moreSaputo plant to keep operating, plans upgrades
A Saputo plant in the village of Glenwood, Alta., will not be closing after all. The facility, which produces dried milk, was slated to close at the end of next year, but Saputo has since re-evaluated operations and decided to keep the plant open. It means 25 people at the village’s largest employer will keep […] Read more
Controversial French scientist defends GMO, pesticide research
French scientist Gilles-Eric Seralini says attempts to discredit him and his research into GMOs and pesticides are negated by the fact his work continues. Speaking to about 150 people in Regina Nov. 6, Seralini said he and fellow scientists have published new work on pesticide toxicity and are ready to publish more. “We have republished […] Read more
