<h2>NOW:</h2> The traditional British breeds of Angus, Hereford and Shorthorn have all enjoyed a period of popularity in Canada, where everyone wanted to hitch a wagon to their rising star. Canada’s national herd is built upon those breeds, but fortunes changed when European breeds were introduced more than 40 years ago. They were big and […] Read more
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Now: Traditional British breeds change with the times; Then: Angus sale is discouraging
Quebec plans to boost farm subsidies
The election-bound minority Parti Québécois government is promising to spend millions of dollars to fill in the gaps in farm support funding cuts implemented “by Ottawa” April 1 last year. Quebec agriculture minister François Gendron has announced that provincial farmers can expect more than $11 million a year in compensation. Details have not yet been […] Read more
2013 weather was one for the books
Last year’s weather events are likely to live long in the minds of western Canadians, if not the record books. It was a year highlighted by a long winter and a cold spring that culminated with bumper crops in the fall, However, it also saw the most expensive disaster in Canadian history. “We are seeing […] Read more
Supply management scores two wins
As the year ended, one of the most fierce critics of Canada’s dairy supply management system suffered two setbacks and a rebuke from the federal agriculture minister. In late November, the federal government tabled a budget-implementation ways-and-means motion in the House Commons that ends a scheme created by J Cheese Inc. to import tariff-free a […] Read more
Ritz reshapes ag sector
More than six years into his term as Canada’s 32nd agriculture minister and soon to be among the longest serving, Gerry Ritz sounds content that he has changed the landscape. “I started in this game with two mottos: farmers first and marketplace, not the mailbox,” he said in an expansive year-end interview about issues past […] Read more
Online sighting gives family hope for lost dog
Went missing from British Columbia farm | Family wondering if dog described in recent advertisement is their pet
A British Columbia farm family is hoping for a Christmas season miracle. They want their dog back. Neiko, an Australian Shepherd owned by the Irvine family, went missing July 5. It was unlike him to leave the farm, where he and his sister, Tessa, often waited at the end of the long driveway for family […] Read moreHay producers show interest in low lignin alfalfa varieties
OLDS, Alta. — Roundup Ready alfalfa may not hold much interest for prairie livestock producers, who grow most of their alfalfa with a grass-hay mix that Roundup would kill. However, low lignin alfalfa has tweaked their interest. Doug Wray, chair of the Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association, said low lignin alfalfa could allow hay producers […] Read more
Canadian farm debt doesn’t concern agriculture minister
Record debt levels Gerry Ritz said farmers must decide if they are over-extending themselves
Despite record Canadian farm debt that rises annually with ensuing increased debt-servicing charges and predictions of higher interest rates, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz does not see a problem. “I am not concerned about the debt level because the asset level has also gone up exponentially,” he said. “I compare the debt to asset ratio […] Read moreCommunity pasture transition to provincial control on track
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Lyle Stewart says the transition of former federal pastures to patrons is proceeding on schedule. Patrons of the first 10 pastures will have completed lease agreements by the time they need grazing land for their cattle in spring, he said. “The Dec. 1 date for signing is not set in stone,” he […] Read more
Environmental group pans Churchill oil shipping
The Wilderness Committee has a three-letter position on the Port of Churchill: ABO, or anything but oil. Eric Reder, the environmental group’s campaign director in Manitoba, said it opposes a proposal to ship oil through Churchill because it is environmentally reckless. He wants the Manitoba government to pass legislation prohibiting shipments of oil through the […] Read more
