SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian corn exports could jump by as much as 40 percent this year. The expected increase to nine to 11 million tonnes in 2010-11 from 7.8 million tonnes in 2009-10 is the result of a large corn surplus in Brazil caused by last year’s large harvest, said Felicio Paschoal da […] Read more
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Brazil corn exports expected to jump
Badlands meeting with CN ‘positive’
Badlands Railway Company has its work cut out for it. The company, made up of Alberta farmers and other local investors looking to buy a rail line in central Alberta, had its first meeting with Canadian National Railway last week. Badlands president Dwayne Marshman, a farmer from Rockyford, remains optimistic about the eventual outcome. “We’re […] Read more
Farmer honoured for contributions in organics
The Organic Crop Improvement Association Research and Education board has named Danny Rempel of Hodgeville, Sask., this year’s outstanding organic farmer. OCIA is one of the world’s foremost organic certifiers, with offices in Canada, the United States, Latin America and Japan. The OCIA RnE is a not-for-profit organization that supports farmer driven research, professional development […] Read more
Shrinking rural political voice not inevitable
The inevitable decline in rural representation on Parliament Hill does not have to mean a quieter rural voice in national affairs, says one of Canada’s leading political scientists. However, Paul Thomas of the University of Manitoba said the strength of that voice can be preserved only through institutional or bureaucratic changes and a strengthening of […] Read more
Ag Notes – for Apr. 15, 2010
Livestock tracking system CALGARY – The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency has launched a new version of the Canadian Livestock Tracking System named CLTS Lite. The application is designed to provide the same key functions and information to CLTS users as the original system, but without extras that can delay access for rural users with dial-up […] Read more
Man. hemp plant gets gov’t support
Manitoba’s hemp industry has grown another bud, thanks to $4.8 million in funding from the federal government. Plains Industrial Hemp Processing plans to build a hemp fibre processing plant in Gilbert Plains, Man. The facility, the first of its kind in Canada, will handle 18,000 tonnes of hemp annually. Funding comes from Western Economic Diversification […] Read more
Cuba to revamp sugar industry
HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) – Cuba plans to close its sugar ministry later this year and replace it with a state-run corporation. Business sources said it is the most important reorganization of the once-thriving industry since it was drastically downsized in 2002. Plans to create the new sugar corporation and revitalize the industry by allowing foreign […] Read more
Handler keeps stress low during livestock moving
Horses aren’t the only livestock that need to be trained, says a Montana rancher. Curt Pate, who teaches courses on low stress cattle handling and low stress colt starting, makes little distinction between training cattle and horses. “We’re getting our cattle ready the same way we’re getting a colt ready for the saddle,” he told […] Read more
Range specialist slammed for view against feral horses
Clare Tannas got a tough lesson in how treasured wild horses are when he suggested that continual grazing by wild horses west of Sundre, Alta., posed a threat to prime grazing grasses and the animals should be removed and perhaps replaced with bison. “Feral horses are escaped domestic animals that are not native to the […] Read more
China dips into corn stocks to cool prices
BEIJING (Reuters) – China planned to release 1.08 million tonnes of corn from state reserves on April 13 in an effort to cool rising domestic prices, which have risen high enough to attract imports. The large state sales were likely to dent domestic prices and discourage feed mills in the south from getting cheap corn, […] Read more
