Canadian Food Inspection Agency president Carole Swan is retiring four years into a five-year appointment. The 36-year veteran bureaucrat led the agency during the deadly 2008 listeria outbreak and the subsequent years of trying to restore faith in the food inspection system, including using government promises of new money to expand the inspection staff. The […] Read more
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CFIA bureaucrat retires early
Qu’Appelle Valley farmers capitalize on nature
LUMSDEN, Sask. — Laureen and Wes LaBrash were both raised, at opposite ends of the province, on farms that focused on local, organic food production. Now they are raising their son, Justin, 11, on an organic farm in the Qu’Appelle Valley west of Lumsden, Sask., with a goal of growing food and providing an organic […] Read more
POS Bio-Sciences welcomes new board members
Two new directors were recently elected to the board of POS Bio-Sciences: Daphne Taras of the University of Saskatchewan’s Edwards School of Business and Art Froehlich of AdFarm. John Cross replaces Dennis Mulvihill as chair. As well, the company has launched a $5,000 post-secondary scholarship for young adult children of POS employees. The POS Paul […] Read more
Agriculture committee sees new faces, duties
There will be a bit of the old and a lot of the new when the House of Commons agriculture committee resumes work after Parliament returns in September. The committee gathered for its organization meeting June 14 amid promises to work co-operatively from all sides. The committee often bogged down in bitter partisan wrangling in […] Read more
Organic grain millers cater to niche market
RICETON, Sask. — Bob Balfour emerges from a mill on his farm at the old Bechard townsite near Riceton with a layer of flour dusting his white coat and hair net. Balfour operates R &J Milling, where he uses a secret method to process organic grain such as durum, wheat, spelt and rye into flour […] Read more
Topigs USA names business development manager
Brent Eyler has joined Topigs USA as business development manager. He will develop sales in the eastern United States with emphasis on Ohio and Indiana. He will also be responsible for technical support to customers in this region. Topigs produces and develops pig genetic programs and breeding systems for commercial hog production.
Border officials stress safety during inspection
Nobody volunteers to crawl underneath for a look when loaded cattle liners come through the vehicle inspection station at Coutts, Alta., heading for Montana. Nevertheless, liners and many other trucks and trailers did get inspected at the June 7-9 Roadcheck 2011 that took place across Alberta. It’s an annual event designed to promote safety in […] Read more
Many see blessing in rain
Farmers in the central and northern Prairies are celebrating the same June rain that has delivered more misery to farmers in the south. Agriculture Canada precipitation maps show that a wide band of farmland in central and northern Saskatchewan and Alberta has received 85 to 115 percent of normal rainfall since April 1 compared to […] Read more
Chuck wagons join race against hunger
The World Professional Chuckwagon Association and Encana Corp. raised almost 635 pounds of non-perishable food and almost $5,000 in cash donations during the second annual Race Against Hunger at the Grande Prairie Stompede in May. The donations were made in support of the Salvation Army Food Bank in Grande Prairie, Alta. Total contributions this year […] Read more
Gov’t may miss biodiesel mandate’s start date: canola growers
Canadian canola growers get the sense the federal biodiesel mandate will be delayed. The proposed two percent mandate is scheduled to be implemented on July 1, after publication deadlines for this issue. Rick White, general manager of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said there could be some “slippage” on the start date. A spokesperson for […] Read more
