MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Effective agricultural policy has to come from the grassroots, farm leaders said at a conference here last week. As farm organizations and individuals work to develop what they think is appropriate and approach it from different philosophical and political viewpoints, agreement seems unlikely. But everyone agrees that something has to change. […] Read more
News — page 3168
Producer input needed in ag policy
New flu not seen before
A new influenza strain detected in two Saskatchewan hog barn workers is not related to the H1N1 pandemic strain, provincial health and veterinary officials said last week. The virus, dubbed novel non-pandemic influenza A, has not affected any hogs. Provincial chief medical health officer Moira McKinnon said the virus is a combination of seasonal human […] Read more
Hydrogen on the horizon
Paul Trella of New Holland has watched his industry shift its fuel research focus from energy pumped from the earth to energy grown in the earth and now to energy from what surrounds the earth. “Farmers have a long history of running their machinery on what they could afford and what was available to them,” […] Read more
G8 eyes 2010 for trade deal
Leaders of the G8 group of developed economies pledged to conclude the seven-year-old round of world trade talks by the end of next year. At the July 10 close of the three-day summit in Italy last week, chair and Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi said a liberalizing trade agreement is needed to help pull the […] Read more
ALMA gets birthday report card
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency was supposed to help pull the livestock industry out of its slump. A year ago, when Alberta agriculture minister George Groeneveld established ALMA, he said a more focused approach to government and industry spending, along with $56 million in start-up funding, would help boost the livestock industry. The strategy […] Read more
Farm plan’s demise puzzles farmers
Like many farmers, Bruce Quadrelli is regularly perplexed by government decisions. As an example, Manitoba and federal governments used to offer a program to help producers develop an environmental farm plan. The program was a huge success and popular with farmers, but in March 2008 the Canada-Manitoba Farm Stewardship program was cancelled. The program was […] Read more
ALMA to begin doling out money for projects
With an 11 member board and a broad mandate, the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency has set up five programs to rebuild the industry. Its official mandate from Alberta agriculture minister George Groeneveld is to provide direction and advice to revitalize the livestock industry through long-term competitiveness and sustainability. About $30 million has been earmarked […] Read more
Producers forage for good feed
Faced with too much rain in the east and not enough moisture in the west, Manitoba’s cattle producers are looking at a poor forage crop across most of the province, says a forage specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. And if growing conditions don’t turn around quickly in the dry southwest, it’s likely that producers will have […] Read more
National livestock strategy urged
The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, which was formed more than a year ago to reboot the red meat industry, would have been better as a national plan, say some industry leaders. “We would favour national programs more than we would a mismatch of provincial programs and regulations,” said Ed Boethner, past president of the […] Read more
Western Producer Crop Report
Alberta South Ten to 30 millimetres of rain fell. Surface moisture is reported as 28 percent poor, 45 fair, with the remainder average or better. Cereals heading, canola bolting, pulses flowering. Hay yields disappointing. Crop conditions down 15 percent from average. Wheat midge emerging in the central and eastern areas. Cabbage seedpod weevil being watched. […] Read more
