Importers have found ingenious ways to skirt triple-digit tariffs for chicken products coming into Canada’s protected supply managed system, government documents show. Some of the imported product improperly finds its way into the domestic market and costs Canada’s poultry industry tens of millions of dollars in lost market share. And according to an exchange of […] Read more
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Importers circumvent tariff rules
Farmer-run wheat breeding considered
New directors to the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission say the concept of a producer-funded, farmer-controlled wheat breeding program deserves serious consideration. “We want to invest producers’ money the most efficient way we can to maximize their profitability (and) … we’re going to explore all avenues to do that,” said Glenn Tait, a farmer from Meota, […] Read more
Owners of planned horse slaughter plant to sue for slander
New Mexico state attorney general ‘defamed industry’
(Reuters) — Owners of a planned horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico have filed notice of their plan to sue the state attorney general for slander over his efforts to block the plant from opening. The proposed plant would be the first such facility to operate in the United States in years. Last month, state attorney […] Read moreGM wheat moving closer to market: Monsanto
Roundup Ready variety expected to be first | Company is also researching drought hardiness and pest resistance
(Reuters) — Monsanto says it is making good progress developing a herbicide-tolerant wheat variety. The company has long tried to bring to market a genetically modified wheat variety that tolerates glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. “The grain industry and the wheat industry … have remained very interested and supportive of biotech advances,” […] Read moreInfo wanted on WIT deal
The potential sale of Weyburn Inland Terminal has sparked concern among producers and shareholders who say the process aimed at selling the farmer-controlled grain handling facility is flawed. The group is demanding that the Weyburn, Sask., terminal’s board of directors hold a shareholder information meeting before WIT’s annual general meeting to offer details of the […] Read more
Gov’t regulations,red tape hinder hiring of foreign workers
Approval to hire a worker can take up to three months
Federal regulations aimed at ensuring that Canadian employers don’t exploit temporary foreign workers are a cost and bureaucratic burden for farmers, says an agricultural labour specialist. Mark Chambers of Sunterra Farms in Acme, Alta., represented the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council on a labour task force that examined industry worker issues, including a chronic worker […] Read moreBig decline in farm workers: Stats Can
Statistics Canada is reporting a sharp drop in agricultural employment, even as the industry frets about a significant gap in workers available for unfilled positions. The federal agency reported Jan. 10 that employment in agriculture declined by 14,000 workers last year to fewer than 300,000. It was one of the largest reasons for an unexpected […] Read more
Consider the Solvita test
MINOT, N.D. — There is a more scientific way to assess soil’s biological activity for growers who aren’t comfortable smelling their soil or dropping an aggregate into a jar of water. The Solvita test measures the amount of carbon dioxide that a soil sample releases. A high level of carbon dioxide respiration indicates the soil […] Read more
Soil is the same as beer?
MINOT, N.D. — Jon Stika, a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, says there is a bar in New Zealand where the following is written on a wall: “If we’re very nice to Mother Nature, she’ll make us some beer.” Interpreting that phrase for farmers attending the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage workshop in […] Read more
U.S. funds pesticide-bee research
(Reuters) — The U.S. government will fund more than $450,000 in research projects to reduce the use of pesticides that may harm honeybees. A total of $459,264 will be divided among Louisiana State University, Penn State University and the University of Vermont to develop practices that reduce the use of potentially harmful pesticides, the Environmental […] Read more
