Idaho state officials have activated a rapid response plan after invasive quagga mussels were found on the Snake River near Twin Falls. State officials warn the invasive mussels threaten the Columbia River basin, which runs across the Pacific Northwest including British Columbia. Related stories on this issue: Mussels close in on Alberta irrigation district Pink […] Read more
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Grain drying alternatives called few
Engineers working on grain drying technology said alternatives to fossil fuels are years away. William David Lubitz, associate professor at the University of Guelph’s school of engineering, and Chandra Singh, senior research chair in agricultural engineering and technology at Lethbridge College, told the Senate agriculture committee that farmers have no viable replacements for propane and […] Read more
Biosecurity bill’s jurisdiction questioned
A constitutional lawyer said a private member’s bill that would penalize those who illegally enter livestock barns is outside federal legislative jurisdiction. Dr. Jodi Lazare, associate professor at Dalhousie University’s law school, said the bill that purports to protect biosecurity is actually a trespass bill, and trespass is dealt with by provincial laws. She told […] Read more
Farmland prices increase 17 percent in Sask.
Higher interests have had little affect on farmland values as they jump 12.2 percent nationally from June 2022 to July 2023
The value of Canadian farmland continues to rise, despite interest rates that are supposed to control inflation. From July 2022 to June 2023, farmland prices in Canada jumped by 12.2 percent, says an FCC report released Oct. 4. In Saskatchewan, farmland values increased 17 percent during the period, the largest gain of any province. “Even […] Read more
Lethbridge research community mourns loss following bear attack
The agricultural research community in Lethbridge is facing the tragic loss of a couple who were partners in many things — the laboratory, their enjoyment of the outdoors and in life. Doug Inglis and Jenny Gusse, both 62, were killed Sept. 29 by a grizzly bear while on a back-country camping trip in Banff National […] Read more
Manitoba election deepens urban-rural divide
The province’s newly elected NDP government will have little representation from the agricultural community
Manitoba’s urban-rural divide deepened Oct. 3 as the provincial election results provided the soon-to-govern NDP with only a couple of farming-related seats while taking away most of the Progressive Conservatives’ Winnipeg territory. In a campaign in which agriculture and rural issues seldom grabbed attention, general issues such as health care, government services and crime were […] Read more
Bigger chickpeas hard to find
Large calibre kabuli chickpeas are in short supply. “There are reports that this year’s harvest in Canada was dominated by small calibre product,” Stat Publishing editor Brian Clancey wrote in a recent article. “Limited supplies of eight millimetre or larger chickpeas is supporting bids for those sizes, while discounts for seven mm and smaller sizes […] Read more
Individualism found harmful to crop productivity
Better understanding how plants compete with each other under high-density cropping conditions may help boost yields
Plants in a field are thought of as all the same throughout their sprouting, growing and maturing stages. But in a field where plants grow in high density and vie for light, an individual plant’s social behaviour can be competitive. According to researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in […] Read more
Emissions stymie shipping
LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — The shipping industry lacks clarity on future clean fuels and regulatory systems, which is holding back companies from replacing aging vessels amid pressure to decarbonise faster, a United Nations agency says. Shipping, which transports more than 80 percent of world trade and accounts for nearly three percent of the world’s carbon […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus profits down as volatility eases
PARIS, France (Reuters) — Louis Dreyfus Company, one of the world’s largest crop merchants, said its first-half net profit and sales fell from a year earlier, when results were boosted by upheaval linked to the war in Ukraine. The company reported a group net profit of US$568 million for the first half of 2023, compared […] Read more
