Başak Traktör, which is based in Sakarya,Turkey, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASKO Holding, announced Dec. 20 it has acquired 96.7 percent of the outstanding shares of Buhler Industries, the parent company of Winnipeg-based Versatile and Farm King brands. The deal includes Başak Traktör assuming all the company’s outstanding debt, and in total is […] Read more
News
Activist or journalist? WP editor left a legacy
Violet McNaughton shaped the lives of the farm women of her time as long-time women’s editor of The Western Producer
REGINA — Long before Harris Turner and Pat Waldron founded The Western Producer, Violet McNaughton was rallying Saskatchewan farmers to support a progressive agenda. She had, by 1923 when the paper was born, already amassed an impressive resume of organizing both men and women through grain growers’ locals and then the Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association. […] Read more
Irrigation sector ratifies amalgamation in Sask.
The Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association and Irrigation Crop Diversification Corp. formally agree to join forces
Irrigation Saskatchewan is now the lead irrigation organization in the province following the successful amalgamation of two provincial organizations. Talks to join Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association (SIPA) and Irrigation Crop Diversification Corp. (ICDC) into one entity have been ongoing for years. A joint executive working committee was formed in March 2022 and both organizations voted […] Read more
China corn breeders ready to double GMO planting in ’24
BEIJING, China (Reuters) — Chinese corn breeders are preparing to plant more than double the amount of genetically modified corn nexts year than in 2023, three industry sources said. Beijing is expected to tightly control the rollout of GMOs for a second year. GM corn will be allowed on around 1.66 million acres in eight […] Read more
Commission addresses test weight controversy
Canadian Grain Commission official says the organization needs to review how it goes about making decisions
REGINA — The Canadian Grain Commission plans to review its processes in light of what happened this past summer regarding test weights, says assistant chief commissioner Patty Rosher. Speaking at the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan annual meeting, Rosher said the decision to align primary and export test weights, and then reverse it, indicates the […] Read more
Fewer hunting licenses sold after trespass laws changed
Saskatchewan environment ministry says it’s too soon to know if the decline is because of the law or other factors
REGINA — Hunting licence sales for white-tailed and mule deer in Saskatchewan dropped after the province implemented its new trespass laws. Joann Skilnick, director of wildlife for the environment ministry, said the decline after the Trespass to Property Act came into force Jan. 1, 2022, was the first in years. “We recognize single year data […] Read more
Manitoba growers wrap up corn, sunflower harvest
Even with last month’s winter weather, corn and sunflower producers in Manitoba had a strong finish to their 2023 growing season. Anastasia Kubinec harvested her corn and sunflowers with great yields this fall, and she was lucky enough to have her sunflowers off before the snow came. She said the warmer weather created some muddy […] Read more
B.C. agricultural land reserve advised to refocus
New report says the 50-year-old system needs to return to its origins as a way to ensure food security in the province
British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Reserve has been around for 50 years and has changed over time. Now, a University of B.C. report on the Agricultural Land Commission, the tribunal that oversees the ALR, has concluded it may be time for it to return to its roots to ensure food security. The ALR was implemented in […] Read more
Canal drought hits shipping
REUTERS — Bulk grain shippers hauling crops from the U.S. Gulf Coast export hub to Asia are sailing longer routes and paying higher freight costs to avoid vessel congestion and record-high transit fees in the drought-hit Panama Canal, traders and analysts said. The shipping snarl through one of the world’s main maritime trade routes comes […] Read more
Estate planning help offered
Farm Credit Canada has introduced a new will and estate pre-planning tool that will provide producers with a starting point when thinking about how to successfully plan for the future of their operations. It is based on Tom Deans’ Willing Wisdom Index platform but has been adapted to reflect the unique needs of Canadian farm […] Read more
