For the first time in more than a quarter of a century, a group of Canadian farmers is asking to create a new supply management agency with price-setting powers. The majority of affected pullet producers are from Western Canada. On July 17, the Pullet Growers of Canada representing farmers who produce layers for the egg […] Read more
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Pullet producers ask for supply management agency
Canola prices rise with crop rally
Canola had more gains Friday, dragged higher by the continuing rally in Chicago soybeans. November Winnipeg futures rose $8.10 per tonne to $644.80, or by 18 cents per bushel, to $14.63. January canola rose $7.40 to $647.10, keeping a small carry in the market. Soybean markets are sharply inverted, revealing strong commercial nearby demand. Regardless […] Read more
Hope fades as drought shrivels U.S. crops
WELTON, Iowa (Reuters) — Bob Bowman ran his hand over a slender green corn leaf on his Iowa farm and sighed. “This corn should be as high as my head right now, and it is only waist high,” he said, as a cool morning breeze belied the mid-30 C temperatures forecast to descend by afternoon […] Read more
Sask. highway crash kills horses
A woman whose horse was one of two killed in a highway collision reminds drivers to be cautious and to take extra care near livestock trailers that contain living animals. “People need to know. Cars and trucks and SUVs, they have people in them, right? Horse trailers, I know they’re not people, but there’s still […] Read more
Codex adopts new standardsfor growth promotant residues
Ractopamine feed additive | New standards necessary because China and EU countries will not accept meat with chemical residues
New international standards have been adopted for the use of ractopamine in finishing cattle and hogs. The new standards came into effect July 7. Some countries, such as China and members of the European Union, will not accept meat from nations that use the product because of questions over residues. However, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, […] Read moreSmall trader eyes Canada
GENEVA, Switzerland (Reuters) — Swiss agricultural trader Quadra Commodities aims to boost volumes by nearly half to five million tonnes in the next year and expand into the Canadian wheat export market. Quadra, created in 2010 by traders from the Australian Wheat Board, hopes to capitalize on its experience in that country’s deregulation process and […] Read more
Ottawa fails to outline marketing plan after CWB elimination
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Rick Swenson has not been a typical CWB supporter. The former provincial Progressive Conservative cabinet minister from Saskatchewan and Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association director advocated for a voluntary CWB and didn’t always have a permit book. But the Moose Jaw area farmer says the changes forced upon the agency by […] Read more
Agriculture Canada to get new deputy minister
Prime minster Stephen Harper has announced a major changing of the senior guard in Agriculture Canada. Effective Sept. 17, deputy minister John Knubley will move to Industry Canada as deputy minister, replaced by former senior Agriculture Canada policy and trade official Suzanne Vinet. Knubley, in the most senior Agriculture Canada post for three years, oversaw […] Read more
Breeders strive to improve disease resistance
Plant breeders are searching for new barley varieties that can fight off scald and stripe rust. Scald is the primary fungus that hits barley, limiting production for growers in central Alberta, said plant pathologist Kequan Xi of Alberta Agriculture’s Field Crop Development Centre in Lacombe. Varieties that once showed resistance are breaking down as scald […] Read more
Flag leaf stage proves best in taking on disease
Three year trial results | Yield and kernel weight were highest when the fungicide was applied at the flag leaf stage
There is little to be gained by spraying early for fungal diseases, says an Agriculture Canada plant pathologist. Early season application when plants are at the two to three or five to six leaf stage is becoming the norm, said Kelly Turkington at the Canadian Barley Symposium in Calgary July 9-10. A three year experiment […] Read more
