Prairie grain farmers will have to pay about $2.50 a tonne more to ship grain by rail in 2010-11.That comes after an average decline of about $2.26 a tonne last year.The Canadian Transportation Agency announced April 30 that the pricing index used to determine the rail freight revenue cap will increase by seven percent next […] Read more
News
Freight rates on the way up
Think tank asks, ‘if you test them, will cattle markets come?’
A new study is designed to find out whether more BSE testing will pry open more doors for Canadian cattle and beef around the world.The Canadian cattle industry lost billions of dollars after BSE was discovered in Canada in 2003 and dozens of countries banned Canadian beef and cattle exports.While many have since reopened, others, […] Read more
Cows share their day
Twitter, the social media network that lets people know what’s happening in 140 words or less, sometimes seems so mindless even a bovine could do it. In Ontario, a dozen milk cows send out tweets several times a day. Researchers say the goal is to look at how technology mediates the relationship between animals and […] Read more
Markets rattle investors
After a wild, panicked and euphoric week in the world’s stock markets, farmers might wonder what it means for crop and livestock prices.It’s a question traders and market analysts grappled with as each day brought another explosive move in the world’s equity markets. Problems in Greece and the Mediterranean were exacerbated by technical problems in […] Read more
Ag critic presses for spot-loss hail
Saskatchewan farmers want spot-loss hail coverage back under the provincial crop insurance program, says opposition leader Dwain Lingenfelter.In fact, it’s the biggest issue farmers raise, the former NDP agriculture minister said. He asked current agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud in the Saskatchewan legislature last week if farmers could expect that to happen.Bjornerud said it would be […] Read more
Industry wary about Enviropig
The Enviropig is now up for approval by Canadian and U.S. safety agencies after more than a decade of development, but hog industry experts are still lukewarm at best about the creature. “It’s an excellent concept, but I can’t even speculate on when it might even possibly be incorporated, if it ever will be, because […] Read more
Stick with Nexera, says Dow
Farmers shouldn’t lose faith in Nexera canola because of problems with deliveries to the Louis Dreyfus Canada plant in Yorkton, Sask., says the specialty canola’s marketer.The omega 9 oil is selling into a lucrative and growing market, but has faced short-term turbulence.”I think there is a real opportunity for us to go after some large […] Read more
Ag Notes – for May. 13, 2010
FCC calls for community projects The sign-up period for the Farm Credit Canada AgriSpirit Fund has begun. Registered charities and non-profit organizations that want to apply for funding should do so on-line at www.agrispirit.ca, from May 3 until June 14.The fund provides $1 million to support rural capital projects across Canada.The FCC AgriSpirit Fund awards […] Read more
U.S. horse exports hurt Alta. trainers
She’s not ready to give up just yet, but Rita Artemenko is thinking of getting out of the horse business. Over the last few years, prices for saddle broken horses have dropped dramatically in Alberta, making it impossible for Artemenko to make money raising and training Quarter horses at her farm near Westlock, Alta. Three […] Read more
Report focuses on Korea, gov’t watchdog
The long-awaited House of Commons agriculture committee report on competitiveness in the agriculture industry is largely a case of opposition MPs saying the government is not going far enough and Conservatives disagreeing. In a prime example, the opposition majority recommended that the federal government get tough with South Korea in the dispute over beef access, […] Read more
