Farmers weigh in | Has the transition from a single desk to an open market been good for farmers?
It’s been one year since the western Canadian grain industry took its first steps into the world of open wheat marketing. For some farmers, the transition away from single desk marketing has been a positive step forward. But according to others, those first steps were more akin to stepping off a cliff. Glenn Tait, a […] Read moreNews
World in brief
Conservation U.S. Conservation Reserve smallest in 25 years WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — An American program that pays farmers to idle fragile cropland soon will protect the smallest amount of land in a quarter century, the United States government said. It cited high commodity prices that have encouraged farmers to plant as much as possible. The […] Read more
Maple Leaf Foods loss, sales disappoint
WINNIPEG (Reuters) — Maple Leaf Foods reported a disappointing quarterly loss today, hurt by weak returns on raising pigs. Shares fell 3.6 percent, or 55 cents, to $14.95 in early trading in Toronto. North American hog farmers have been hard pressed to survive losses in the past year because of weak pig prices and at-times […] Read more
Glyphosate resistant kochia suspected in Manitoba
Growers and provincial agriculture specialists suspect that glyphosate resistant kochia has arrived in Manitoba. After applying glyphosate this year, several soybean growers found that the herbicide did not kill kochia plants in their fields. They alerted provincial employees, including Dennis Lange, a Manitoba Agriculture crop production adviser in Altona. Lange, who spoke at a field […] Read more
Auto insurance premiums expected to rise in Alberta
Premiums for automobile insurance can increase by up to five percent in Alberta over the next three years, beginning Nov. 1. The province’s Automobile Insurance Rate Board recently completed an annual review and said in a July 25 news release that it will allow the increase. “We knew that an increase would be necessary, but […] Read more
Manitoba hit one million acres of seeded soybeans this year
After much speculation, guesswork and prognostications, it appears that Manitoba farmers seeded more than one million acres of soybeans this year. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp., the provincial crop insurer, is projecting 1.08 million acres of soybeans for the province in 2013. With 97 percent of the data reported as of late July, there were 1.048 […] Read more
Sask. to rehabilitate irrigation canal
Rehabilitation work will begin in September on a segment of the M1 Canal, which is the main irrigation supply line from Saskatchewan’s Lake Diefenbaker. The province announced today it will spend nearly $5 million to rehabilitate part of the 22.5-kilometre canal built in the 1960s. About 1.3 km of the canal will be enlarged and […] Read more
Farmers reflect on one year after end of CWB single desk
It’s been almost 12 months since the Canadian Wheat Board lost its powers as a single-desk seller of western Canadian wheat. For better or for worse, single-desk marketing is a thing of the past in the West. Here’s what some producers are saying about the changes after one year in an open marketing environment. “It’s […] Read more
Ontario grain farmers fight back in neonicotinoid ban debate
Grain Farmers of Ontario is now actively campaigning to preserve insecticide seed treatments after taking a collaborative approach for several months. The organization sent out postcards to its members in July asking farmers to contact their MP or MPP to stop a potential ban of neonicotinoids in Ontario. The campaign is a response to efforts […] Read more
Prairie crop report generally positive
Saskatchewan Warm weather in the third week of July helped crops advance, although rain and high humidity slowed haying progress and even decreased quality. Hay yields are slightly above the five-year average and are reported at 1.5 tons per acre for alfalfa and alfalfa-brome hay, 1.3 tons per acre for other tame hay, one ton […] Read more
