Genetically modified wheat research is off to a promising start on the other side of the globe. Scientists at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), while attempting to make a wheat with an enhanced starch profile, came up with a line of genetically modified wheat that yields 30 percent more than check varieties […] Read more
News
Accidental GM wheat surprises with 30 percent yield hike
Tories welcome OECD view on open market
Report critical of supply management | The Paris-based organization says the system distorts subsidy levels
A Paris-based economic analysis organization has praised the Canadian government for its decision to end the CWB monopoly. “The recent decision to remove the monopoly of the Canadian Wheat Board on marketing wheat and barley in Western Canada, both for domestic use and export, is a positive step to enhance pro-active price risk management by […] Read moreFertilizer institute gets funds for greenhouse gas research
Recently announced funding from the federal government will support research aimed at greenhouse gas mitigation in fertilizer use. The Canadian Fertilizer Institute has received $700,000 to study greenhouse gas mitigation using the 4R Nutrient Stewardship system. It is a set of beneficial management practices established by the industry to improve fertilizer efficiency while reducing leakage […] Read more
Speed makes food safety more difficult: union
Massive beef recall | Food processor loses licence amid food safety issues, puts 2,200 employees in job limbo
A massive beef recall that led to the temporary closure of the XL Foods processing plant in Brooks, Alta., shows inherent problems with modern meat processing, says a union official. Potential E. coli O157:H7 contamination has resulted in the recall of more than 400 XL products in Canada and the United States. Tom Hesse of […] Read moreXL plant closure shakes market
CFIA recalls 400 products | E. coli from Alberta plant found in beef products across Canada, U.S.
Uncertainty is overshadowing beef markets with the temporary closure of one of Canada’s major meat processing plants. A backlog of cattle awaited slaughter and markets turned bearish after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency pulled XL Foods’ licence and closed the plant Sept. 27 following the discovery of E. coli O157:H7 in various products. The list […] Read moreFood safety, veterinary head replaced
Brian Evans | Government names Evans special adviser to Canadian Food Inspection Agency president
Brian Evans, for more than a decade the public face of government food safety efforts as chief Canadian veterinary officer and chief food safety officer, is being replaced. On Sept. 18, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced Evans will become a special adviser to Canadian Food Inspection Agency president George Da Pont. He will continue to […] Read moreAlta. growers provide tasty, unique vegetables
STRATHMORE, Alta. — Harvest in the vegetable business is five grueling months of picking and packaging. For Cam Beard of Carseland, Alta., work starts in July with the cutting of tender beet tops and continues until the beginning of November when he pulls the last of the parsnips. Working with Rosemary Wotske at Poplar Bluff […] Read more
Exporter of the year
Manitoba farm education centre off to slow start
It didn’t attract as many visitors as expected, but agricultural education leaders in Manitoba are pleased by the impact of the Bruce D. Campbell Farm & Food Discovery Centre. The education centre, which opened September 2011 at the University of Manitoba’s Glenlea Research Station south of Winnipeg, drew 4,000 to 5,000 visitors in its first […] Read more
Quebec minister faces decision on supports
Ag minister, deputy premier | Whether to sign on to the Growing Forward 2 on front burner
Quebec’s new agriculture minister is the most veteran politician in the province. François Gendron, first elected in 1976 with former premier René Levesque and re-elected eight times since, was sworn in as the Parti Quebecois’ agriculture minister and deputy premier Sept. 20. One of his first decisions will be whether to sign Quebec onto the […] Read more
