FCC, BMO are secured creditors Lenders oppose having money set aside in case farmers win lawsuit
Farm Credit Canada and the Bank of Montreal are appealing a court decision that would help Manitoba farmers recover losses from unpaid grain deliveries. This spring, a judge responsible for dispersing money from Puratone, a Manitoba hog company that entered creditor protection last fall, decided that affected farmers should have a chance to recoup their […] Read moreNews
Creditors appeal decision to set aside cash for farmers
Farmers appeal complaints about Monsanto to U.S. supreme court
(Reuters) — A group of U.S. farmers, seed companies and others challenging patents on genetically altered crops held by biotech seed giant Monsanto Co. on Thursday appealed their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The group, made up of 73 organic and conventional family farmers, seed companies and public advocacy interests, sued Monsanto in March […] Read more
Low protein returns in U.S. spring wheat harvest crimp exports
(Reuters) — A mild growing season for spring wheat in the northern U.S. Plains produced better-than-expected yields, but the protein content valued by flour millers and bakers is likely to be the lowest in at least three years, crop experts said on Thursday. With harvest more than halfway complete, the lower protein returns have kept […] Read more
Research body recommends ag policies to address hunger
The report also says poverty, often the cause of food insecurity, should be a priority
The Conference Board of Canada, in its latest discussion paper on a national food strategy, says Canadian agriculture policy and selective subsidies could be weapons in the war against hunger. It argued that any national food strategy must “ensure that agricultural policies have a household food security lens. Agricultural policy can work toward alleviating household […] Read moreStudy examines co-planted crops
Multiple species together | Polyculture crops may provide benefits, especially to organic growers
This fall, officials at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current, Sask., expect to harvest a series of unique looking plots. They’ll be examining them and recording data as part of a three-year study into the performance of poly-culture cover crops or cocktail mixtures in southwestern Saskatchewan’s brown soil zone, in which multiple […] Read moreBreeders still working to unlock secret to resistance
Next summer’s release of Canada’s first fusarium resistant wheat variety is welcome news to an industry that has seen fusarium-related losses increasing steadily over the past few years. However, Rob Graf, the wheat breeder who developed AC Emerson, says it’s too early to tell whether other resistant-rated wheat varieties will soon be developed. Wheat breeders […] Read more
GGC urged to battle conservative perceptions
Embedded in the success of the Grain Growers of Canada’s effort to move its agenda forward with Conservative governments is a potential problem. Outgoing GGC executive director Richard Phillips said the organization’s support of many Conservative priorities from trade deals and the end of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly to Canadian Grain Commission reforms could […] Read more
U.S. may see record farm income
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — The U.S. agricultural sector will enjoy record high income in 2013 as bin-busting grain harvests in the Midwest more than offset expected lower prices, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Net farm income in the United States is expected to reach $120.6 billion this year, up six percent from 2012 but […] Read more
New resistant wheat excites growers
AC Emerson | The red winter wheat variety is resistant to fusarium, leaf stripe and stem rust
Seed growers have been talking about it. Farmers can’t wait to get their hands on it. And all the major elevator companies want a piece of it. AC Emerson, a red winter wheat variety with a resistant rating against fusarium, will soon make its debut in commercial fields across Western Canada. Canterra Seeds, which holds […] Read moreCanadian pigs land in China
When pigs fly, you say? That day might already be upon us. Almost 900 Saskatchewan pigs flew across the Pacific Ocean recently, after Saskatoon swine genetics company Fast Genetics sold a shipment of 868 breeding pigs to China. The pigs, from the company’s facilities near Spiritwood, Sask., included 710 sows and 158 boars. They were […] Read more
