SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) – The high cost of advertising and a struggling U.S. beef industry have forced popular beef ads off television, and it does not appear they will be returning any time soon. Voiced over the years by actors Robert Mitchum, James Garner and Sam Elliott, the ads featured a catchy musical number […] Read more
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Penny pinching forces beef promotion off TV
Agriculture Canada’s spending estimates make big jump
Agriculture Canada predicts program spending will increase by almost 13 percent this year. According to spending estimates tabled in the House of Commons March 3, departmental spending will increase by $341 million to $3 billion compared to a prediction of $2.65 billion in the comparable document last year. However, the numbers, which were prepared last […] Read more
Ag Notes – for Mar. 11, 2010
Angus Gold show winner Brylor Ranch has been selected the 2009 Canadian Angus Association Gold Show winner for red show female of the year. Bryan and Sherry Mackenzie run the ranch in the foothills 10 kilometres south of Pincher Creek, Alta. The red show bull of the year is owned by Terry and Rob Adams […] Read more
Wheat board’s contingency fund posts surplus
A year after being at the centre of a political fire storm, the Canadian Wheat Board’s contingency fund has resumed its previous anonymity. The fund ended 2008-09 with a net surplus of $3.4 million, according to the board’s annual Report to Producers released last week. That’s a big turnaround from the previous year, when the […] Read more
Rates up for Sask. rural customers
SaskWater is raising its rates for hundreds of rural customers in Saskatchewan effective next month. The nine percent increase will raise the average household bill for potable water by $4.14 to $6.24 per month for farms that are directly connected to the utility’s delivery system. The April increase affects customers who do not have scheduled […] Read more
Monsanto initiates new rules to preserve Bt corn
Monsanto Canada is taking steps to ensure corn producers are planting sufficient refuge acres to protect the effectiveness of its insect control technology. “Planting a properly configured refuge when using corn hybrids with in-plant Bt insect control is absolutely critical to protecting the long-term viability and effectiveness of these technologies,” Chris Anderson, stewardship lead for […] Read more
World in brief – for Mar. 11, 2010
Canadian inspectors sent to Mexico MEXICO CITY, Mexico (Reuters) – Canada has agreed to send a team of meat inspectors to five Mexican meat packing plants in June, which could allow Mexico to begin exporting beef to Canada. Canada will also join talks between Mexico and the United States aimed at formulating rules that would […] Read more
Environmental group warns of global phosphorus shortage
The world should be more worried about running out of phosphorus than oil, says Vivek Voora, a project manager for the International Institute of Sustainable Development in Winnipeg. “The peak phosphorus issue does get compared to peak oil often,” said Voora, co-author of a IISD study released last week titled Peak Phosphorous: Opportunity in the […] Read more
Irrigation unlikely to expand in southern Alta.
It’s possible to expand irrigation into the dry regions of southern Alberta, says a recent study of water supply in the South Saskatchewan River system. However, an irrigation specialist doubts it will happen, even though farmers have improved their efficiency by using the same amount of water to irrigate twice as many crops as they […] Read more
When the wind blows the cost savings show
HALKIRK, Alta. – Patti and Steve McKnight have a new appreciation for the wind. The central Alberta farm family used to curse the constant wind that drifted snow across their driveway and blew cold air through their parkas and into their bones. Now, they smile when the wind blows because they know they’re making electricity […] Read more
