Nithi Govindasamy, associate deputy minister of policy and programs at Saskatchewan agriculture, is moving to the highways ministry. As of Sept. 16, he will be the deputy minister of highways and infrastructure to Don McMorris. Govindasamy joined the Saskatchewan agriculture ministry shortly after the November 2007 election. He had worked for the Alberta government before […] Read more
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Associate deputy minister leaves Saskatchewan Agriculture
Energy company activities infuriate Alberta residents
PEACE RIVER, Alta. — Richard and Audrey Langer gave up their fight with nearby energy companies this spring and moved off the farm. After years of complaining about the odours from nearby oil operations, the couple moved 75 kilo-metres west where they said the air didn’t smell so foul. Langer’s father homesteaded the farm in […] Read more
Sask. harvest 30 percent complete
The Saskatchewan harvest is now at least 30 percent complete. The provincial crop report released Thursday said, as of Sept. 9, another 36 percent of the crop was either swathed or ready to combine. The five-year average for this time of year is 28 percent combined and 31 percent ready. The southwest region is the […] Read more
CWB urges farmers to market early due to big anticipated crop
Prairie farmers are expected to harvest a large crop this year, but protein levels will be lower than average and getting the crop to market could be a challenge. CWB pooling manager Dave Przednowek says this year’s large crop will put greater pressure on the logistical system. “The large size of this year’s crop means […] Read more
New U.S. meat label rule survives challenge by meat packers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A U.S. district judge refused on Wednesday to stop the government from requiring labels on packages of beef, pork, poultry and lamb sold in U.S. stores to include more specific information about the meat’s country of origin. U.S. meat packers said the latest country-of-origin labelling rule will drive up their costs and […] Read more
Ag enrolment takes big jump at U of M
A big jump in enrolment in the University of Manitoba’s agriculture program is being credited to a solid recruitment effort and a strong agricultural sector. The university’s faculty of agricultural and food sciences is reporting a 24 percent increase over last year of students enrolled in its degree program. “We’ve been steadily going up over […] Read more
A third of food is wasted, making it third-biggest carbon emitter, says UN
ROME (Reuters) — The food the world wastes accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than any country except for China and the United States, the United Nations said in a report on Wednesday. Every year, about a third of all food for human consumption, around 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted, along with all the energy, […] Read more
Australia cuts forecast for wheat output, but still expects bumper crop
SYDNEY (Reuters) — Australia has trimmed its forecast wheat production in the current marketing season by more than three percent after dry weather across key growing states, but output from the world’s No. 2 exporter is still expected to be its sixth largest on record. The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences […] Read more
David MacLennan to replace outgoing Cargill CEO
CHICAGO (Reuters) — Agribusiness Cargill Inc. on Wednesday said its chief executive officer will step down on Dec. 1 after six years on the job. CEO Gregory Page, 62, will be replaced by David MacLennan, Cargill’s president and chief operating officer, in a shuffle that is “the result of the company’s ongoing succession planning with […] Read more
Food price fears push EU lawmakers to put a lid on biofuels growth
STRASBOURG, France, Sept 11 (Reuters) — The European parliament has voted to limit the use of fuels made from food crops because of fears that biofuels can push up grain prices or damage the climate, further undermining the once booming industry. Lawmakers voting in Strasbourg on Wednesday set a ceiling on the use of such […] Read more
