Agricultural projects funded in B.C. Agricultural projects that support business development, innovation, food safety and sustainability received $2 million in funding in British Columbia this year through Growing Forward 2: The B.C. Agricultural Research and Development Corp. received $1.3 million for the delivery of the Beneficial Management Practices Program and the Environmental Farm Plan Program. […] Read more
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AG Notes
USDA moves Dow’s 2,4-D Enlist corn and beans closer to approval
Jan 3 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday it was leaning towards a long-awaited approval of Dow AgroSciences’ genetically altered “Enlist” corn and soybeans that have been heavily criticized by groups who say they will harm the environment. The Enlist seeds are designed to be used in combination with a new herbicide […] Read more
Researchers building new stem rust resistance
Gene discoveries | Canadian officials working to stack resistant genes to guard crops against Ug99 stem rust
The discovery of three wheat genes that are resistant to Ug99 stem rust will help the Canadian wheat industry stay a step ahead of the devastating wheat disease. Canadian researchers, led by Agriculture Canada wheat pathologist Tom Fetch, have identified three previously undescribed wheat genes that are resistant to Ug99. Ug99 is a deadly race […] Read moreKoch’s planned fertilizer expansion in Manitoba doesn’t worry other projects
Koch Fertilizer plans to spend $30 million to expand its nitrogen plant in Brandon, increasing ammonia production by 90,000 tonnes annually. As well, the company said it is considering another major investment in its Brandon plant to boost urea production. However, Farmers of North America spokesperson Bob Friesen said Koch’s expansion plans won’t affect FNA’s […] Read more
Flu in Sask. sparks calls for flu shot
Saskatchewan residents are urged to get their flu shots after 161 confirmed cases and three deaths. All three deaths occurred in people with underlying medical conditions and included two children under age five, said the province’s deputy chief medical health officer, Denise Werker. Most of the confirmed cases are of pandemic H1N1, which is included […] Read more
China cancels U.S. corn buys; some shifts to Japan, S. Korea
Jan 3 (Reuters) – Chinese importers canceled their largest U.S. corn purchases in 14 months last week, U.S. government data showed on Friday, while several more cargoes of the grain initially bound for China were diverted to other Asian nations. China has rejected numerous cargoes of U.S. corn since mid-November because they contained Syngenta AG’s […] Read more
Flu shots urged in Alberta as H1N1 cases soar
A surge in cases of H1N1 influenza across Alberta has the provincial health minister urging people to get flu shots. Fred Horne issued a statement today noting there have been 965 lab-confirmed cases of flu in the province, many of them suffered by young adults. Another 251 Albertans have been hospitalized for flu and five […] Read more
Informa economics raises U.S. 2013 corn, soy yield estimates
CHICAGO (Reuters) — Private analytics firm Informa Economics trimmed its estimate of U.S. 2013 corn production to 14.162 billion bushels, from 14.223 billion previously, but raised its yield estimate to 161.6 bushels per acre, from 161.2, trade sources said Friday. For soybeans, Informa estimated the 2013 U.S. harvest at 3.329 billion bushels and the yield […] Read more
Hemp industry argues for deregulation, but not all agree
By Robert Arnason Brandon bureau Canada’s rules and regulations for growing hemp are burdensome, tedious and in need of revision, says Chris Dzisiak, a grower from Dauphin, Man. Nonetheless, Dzisiak said it’s unrealistic to completely deregulate hemp production and treat the crop the same as canola, wheat and barley. “It is still a controlled substance…. […] Read more
Australia swelters after record hot 2013; farmers slaughter cattle, bushfire warning
SYDNEY, Jan 3 (Reuters) – A searing heatwave is baking central and northern Australia, piling more misery on drought-hit cattle farmers who have been slaughtering livestock as Australia sweltered through the hottest year on record in 2013. Temperatures have topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit)in large parts of Australia’s key agricultural regions for most of […] Read more
