The Nature Conservancy of Canada has announced it has set aside 10 new areas to protect natural habitat for species at risk.That includes one gifted area in each province, covering a total area of 13 sq. kilometres.It is the ninth annual Gifts to Canadians and is marked by regional events to celebrate Canada’s biodiversity from […] Read more
News
Species at risk get more protected area from NCC
Stressed farmers encouraged to ask for help
A farm where the weeds are getting out of control, the yard’s a mess or the livestock are looking bad could be red flags for farmers in distress.Mental health experts are encouraging farmers to check on neighbours if something seems odd, because thousands of farmers across the Prairies are feeling stressed and some might be […] Read more
BSE pointman takes charge of food safety
Canada’s chief veterinary officer has added another job title to his resumé and a new responsibility for food safety in Canada.Dr. Brian Evans began his new job as Canada’s chief food safety officer June 28 after a late-May appointment by prime minister Stephen Harper.He continues to be chief Canadian veterinary officer but gives up his […] Read more
Cells self-destruct if damaged
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. – Scientists have discovered that plants protect themselves against stem cell DNA damage brought on by environmental stress by causing the cell to self-destruct rather than passing on the defective DNA.Stem cells at the tips of a plant’s roots and shoots are central to the production of plant tissue.Researchers Nick Fulcher and […] Read more
Wheat board racks up $130 million China wheat deal
China says it will buy at least 500,000 tonnes of Canadian milling wheat by the end of 2011, more than doubling the typical level of Chinese purchases in recent years.The deal, announced July 5 by agriculture minister Gerry Ritz when he returned from his third trade trip to China during the past year, would be […] Read more
Cattle owners guilty in animal distress case
A father and his son have pleaded guilty in an animal welfare case in which 225 cattle are estimated to have died.Wayne and Barrett Robinson of Outlook, Sask., had been charged with allowing their cattle to be in distress.After they pleaded guilty in Outlook court, the judge ordered the maximum fine of $5,000 each and […] Read more
Western Producer Crop Report – for Jul. 8, 2010
Alberta South Unseeded acres in southCrops remain three weeks behind normal development due to the cool, wet spring. Unseeded acres will be lower than expected.Less than 500,000 acres will go unseeded in Alberta, with most unseeded acres in the southern part of the province.Conditions have improved substantially from mid June. Cereals are 65 percent good […] Read more
Trade study focuses on potential partners
The Senate foreign affairs and international trade committee has wrapped up a 30-month study of Canadian trade with a recommendation that Canada deepen trade relations with China, India and Russia.The committee, chaired by Saskatchewan Conservative senator Raynall Andreychuk, said Canadian agriculture would be a big winner.While those three emerging economies are significant markets for Canadian […] Read more
Lakeland College buys land for farm training
Lakeland College will undergo a significant growth spurt once it adds 1,400 acres of land to its existing 400 acre campus in Vermilion, Alta.The 97-year-old college plans to buy 100 percent of the shares of Barrhill Farms Ltd. of Vermilion, which includes farmland, three houses, two shops and grain bins.The deal requires an order-in-council from […] Read more
Letters to the editor – for Jul. 8, 2010
Electoral reforms Canada needs electoral reforms. One cynical observer thinks that Canadians put more thought into the purchase of a wide screen television than in deciding who runs the country. I do not share that view.While the long-term thinking part of our brains is negatively affected by stress and distraction, like the 3,000 advertisements the […] Read more
