A Manitoba farmer has the distribution rights to a crop he thinks could become a popular rice substitute, but a respected plant breeder said that is a pipe dream. Scott Sigvaldason, part owner of Wedge Farms Nutrition, said Cavena Nuda oats could be the next Cinderella crop. “I don’t see why it shouldn’t be a […] Read more
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Producer hopes to do well with new oat variety
Diesel shortage spreads across Prairies
BASHAW, Alta. – Power to the dyed diesel pump at the UFA fuel station in Bashaw was turned off and Sharon Miller was just about to turn off the power to the clear diesel Oct. 17. Fuel stations across the Prairies were forced to put up sold-out signs when problems at three Edmonton refineries either […] Read more
Anhydrous leak causes evacuation
Nobody was hurt when a Viterra truck carrying anhydrous ammonia sprung a leak on the outskirts of Wilkie, Sask., Oct. 13. The Wilkie fire department temporarily evacuated three streets in the town, fearing a poisonous cloud that had formed half a kilometre south of Wilkie could drift into the community. “Anhydrous ammonia can be extremely […] Read more
Rural votes spur Tories to victory
Rural voters played a major role in returning Stephen Harper and his Conservative party to power with a stronger minority in the House of Commons. More than half of the 143 seats won by the Conservatives were largely rural, including almost all prairie seats. The Conservatives swept rural Ontario and for the first time since […] Read more
Guru sticks with commodities
Jim Rogers has been a prominent investor since the time he and George Soros operated the Quantum Fund, one of the world’s first hedge funds. He earned enough money to retire at the age of 37 and travel the world, ignoring the world’s markets for a few years. However, he learned enough from his time […] Read more
Prairie farmers stick with people food
The Canadian Wheat Board wants the public to know that prairie farmers are growing wheat to feed people, not automobiles. The marketing agency last week released the results of its 2008 variety survey. In a News release news accompanying the survey, the board noted that 88.4 percent of the wheat seeded in 2008 was destined […] Read more
Ontario Pork loses marketing power
Ontario hog producers are losing their central desk marketing board first established more than half a century ago. Last week, after being petitioned by some producers and holding hearings last summer, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission announced Ontario Pork no longer has the mandate to be involved in almost all hog marketing in the […] Read more
Sask. expands water assistance
Governments have increased the share they will pay for Saskatchewan water projects after farmers found the costs too high. Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud said about a third of the $15 million available through the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program has been allocated. There are about 25 community wells in the works. He said the […] Read more
Heat gene discovered
Scientists have uncovered another piece of the puzzle of how plants respond to heat. Robert Larkin, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Michigan State University, was working on photosynthesis in plants when he uncovered the bZIP28 gene. He and his team found that it regulates the heat stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana, a […] Read more
Knapweed biocontrol creates new problem
Attempts to use gallflies to control spotted knapweed appear to have backfired. Thanks in part to the appetite of the deer mouse, the noxious weed is now widespread in western North America and a growing problem in the northeast. Dean Pearson, a U.S. Department of Agriculture ecologist, said knapweed normally thrives in the inner mountains […] Read more
