Game seeks low surface lease

Pat Walker doesn’t know how many entries to expect for a contest to find the lowest surface lease annual payment. However, she thinks it will be a fun way to raise awareness of the need to review surface lease payments. My Landman Group Inc. will accept entries until the end of the year to win […] Read more

Dual market best fit for barley: study

Two year study | Mandatory price reporting also recommended by barley growers’ report

A dual market may be the best option for prairie barley growers, a recent study indicates. A two-year study on the optimal marketing structure for the Canadian barley sector analyzed why more people are not growing it and where new opportunities may present themselves. Conducted by market consultants John DePape, Brian McKenzie and Russ Crawford, […] Read more

Policy needs to shift gears from trade

The next Canadian food policy should include a switch in emphasis from a trade and big-is-better mindset to an emphasis on local food, a local food advocate has told MPs. During House of Commons agriculture committee hearings Feb. 29 on the next five-year Growing Forward plan, Food Secure Canada senior policy adviser Anna Paskal said […] Read more


Immigrant farmer takes long way to farm

Dutch farmer Eduard Bomers, soon to be a Canadian farmer, is starting this month on the trek of a lifetime. Sometime around March 8, the 46-year-old former Dutch dairy farmer will pick up his Fendt tractor and a trailer from a boat in Halifax harbour and begin the long tractor drive from there to his […] Read more

Outline post CWB rules: APAS

Saskatchewan farm leader Norm Hall has delivered a pointed message for opposition politicians fighting the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly battle against the federal Conservative government. Barring a court reversal, the political battle is over, said the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan president. “The message we are giving is that the game is determined,” he said […] Read more


Farmers see on-farm grain storage as way to assert control

Is grain storage a wasteful frill or a key strategic asset? That’s a question I’ve pondered lately, and it’s been coming up all pver as the post Canadian Wheat Board mono-poly world looms. I recently moderated a panel discussion about the post-monopoly world, and the question of who would store the grain came up. It […] Read more

Stewardship program gets grassland grant

The Saskatchewan-based Ranchers Stewardship Alliance has been awarded a $48,000 grant to explore ways to encourage ranchers to protect natural grasslands. The grant was a portion of the $1.3 million in funding awarded to various groups by the Commission for Environmental Co-operation. Funding was announced in mid-February. Sue Michalsky, a director with the RSA, said […] Read more

Vietnam provides wealth of opportunities for trade

Feedgrains, livestock | Economic growth in developing countries will create new markets

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Global food demand is showing no signs of abating, according to the U.S. Grains Council. More than 600 million households, primarily in developing countries, will join the middle class by 2020. “These new markets in terms of sheer size and dollar value will exceed existing middle class markets in the U.S., Europe […] Read more


Farmers stand to gain from shale gas technology

The shale gas revolution has suddenly flipped North America from being one of the most expensive places to produce fertilizer to among the world’s cheapest. That’s drawing interest from manufacturers to boost production here, which might give prairie farmers a crucial competitive advantage in the cutthroat world of global trade. “This has turned completely up-side […] Read more

Plan to bring bison into park debated

COCHRANE, Alta. — Bison could be roaming Banff National Park by 2014. Federal environment minister Peter Kent announced the plan to bring Plains bison back to the park at the end of January. However, some of the park’s neighbours are questioning the animals’ health status and whether fences could keep the animals from wandering into […] Read more