Senate to vote soon on carbon tax exemption bill, and the chamber is accused of delaying tactics to keep it from passing
The fate of Bill C-234 in the Canadian Senate has become a numbers game. Bill supporters are urgently asking farmers to contact their senators to explain how important it is that they are in Ottawa Nov. 21 to vote. Senators must be present in the chamber to vote, unlike members of Parliament who can vote […] Read moreNews
Gov’t urged to support ag environmental contributions
Committee report recommendations include more recognition and assistance to help farmers continue their stewardship
The standing agriculture committee has released 15 recommendations for the federal government to consider after its study of the sector’s environmental contributions. In a report submitted in the House of Commons last week, the committee said Canadian farmers have a tradition of environmental stewardship but the government could help “unleash their full innovative potential and […] Read more
Health Canada pushes back on regulatory critics
The department has been criticized for an unpredictable process, but it argues that it ‘makes evidence-based decisions’
Politicians, agriculture investors, ag tech companies, industry consultants and representatives of the crop science industry say Canada’s regulatory system has a bad reputation. They claim that politics and public opinion are influencing Health Canada decisions around pesticides and new technologies like gene-edited crops. Related stories on this issue: Death by consultation Canadian ag tech firms […] Read more
Crop insurance accounts for the lion’s share of Sask. gov’t payments made to producers
Saskatchewan producers should receive about $2 billion in business risk management support payments this year, the provincial and federal governments said last week. Forecasts based on the 30 percent of Saskatchewan Crop Insurance claims paid out so far show those payments alone could reach $1.85 billion. According to the corporation, the reserve fund would still […] Read more
Producer assists with university pea research
Saskatchewan grower says farmers must take a more active role in developing new varieties to improve production
A southern Saskatchewan farmer is espousing the need to co-operate with researchers and even take the lead in developing new varieties to better improve crops on the Prairies. Ernest Anderson farms in the province’s southwest and is working with University of Calgary researchers on how to increase the protein content of yellow peas. “Pulses don’t […] Read more
Hearing finds support for Alta. renewable energy pause
Few people attend recent consultation session, but those who do favour an inquiry into renewable energy expansion
Renewable energy development is a hot topic in southern Alberta, but an initial engagement session hosted by the Alberta Utilities Commission on the future of the sector attracted only lukewarm attendance during a recent stop in Medicine Hat. AUC has started an inquiry into renewable energy development at the province’s request, after the provincial government […] Read more
VIDEO: Using rye to make whisky can be a challenge
Saskatchewan micro-distillery faced a steep learning curve when it decided to get into the business of making rye whisky
This is part of an ongoing series of stories exploring rye, the crop, as it becomes Rye, the whisky. LUMSDEN, Sask. — When Colin Schmidt made one of his first batches of rye whisky, he was shocked at the taste. It was terrible. He decided to dump it down the drain. Other stories in this […] Read more
New Man. ag minister focuses on economy
Ron Kostyshyn says rural economic development is critical to the health of agriculture in Manitoba. “We don’t need to be chasing producers away. We need to have more of them involved for the economic development of rural Manitoba,” said Manitoba’s reappointed agriculture minister. Kostyshyn represents the Dauphin region, the only heavily agricultural electoral district to […] Read more
Scientists figure out how to farm on the moon
Research conducted in China shows how lunar soil can be made fertile enough to support agricultural production
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) — If humankind is ever to establish long-term bases on the moon, there will be a need for a regular source of food. It is not practical, however, to think you can plant corn or wheat in plain lunar soil in greenhouses on the moon and expect a bumper crop, or any […] Read more
United Nations’ world food price index falls in October
The drop is driven by declines in sugar, cereals, vegetable oils and meat, but dairy bucked the downward trend in prices
LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — The United Nations food agency’s world price index fell in October to its lowest level in more than two years, driven by declines in sugar, cereals, vegetable oils and meat. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 120.6 points in October, down […] Read more
