Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s operations performed better and earned more money this year, but one-time charges caused net earnings to drop well below last year’s profit. The company handled more grain, made more money on each tonne it handled, sold more inputs and processed products and lowered interest costs by converting a large portion of its […] Read more
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Sask Pool’s financial report generates optimistic forecast
Food makers favour canola
Manufacturers are moving quickly to take advantage of canola oil’s new qualified health claim in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration-approved claim verifies what product manufacturers have been claiming independently for years. “We’re ecstatic about it,” said Jim Ehlen of Madhouse Munchies, a New Hampshire potato chip manufacturer. “The centrepiece of our potato […] Read more
Ont. farmers don’t like Options plan
Ontario’s largest farm organization is calling on the federal government to scrap its Options program that is designed to funnel cash to low-income farms, claiming that while it may work for Saskatchewan, it does not for Ontario. Instead, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture said the $100 million that should come as the province’s part of […] Read more
College expansion fits with Stampede plans
A little green schoolhouse on the corner of Calgary’s Stampede Park is the beginning of a major expansion for Olds College. The modular building is the temporary home for two college programs and 50 students in the satellite school. The college and the Stampede started talks in 2001 to expand the 90-year-old agricultural college to […] Read more
Noted farmer, researcher dies suddenly
Dennis McIntosh, an advocate of knowledge-based farming, died of a heart attack Oct. 1 at the age of 62. The Melfort, Sask., farmer was recognized prairie-wide for his efforts over the past three decades to make new technology work for producers. McIntosh was born in Melfort and raised on the family farm in the nearby […] Read more
Rancher seeks fire payment
Rancher Russell Jans of Piapot, Sask., will continue to fight for compensation from a fire that left him without winter pastures for his 550 cattle. He said he isn’t happy with a legal judgment in August that failed to provide payment to him for a fire in September 1999 that cost him thousands of dollars. […] Read more
Biofuel sector heats up with Alta. boost
Alternative energy projects will be pushed from iffy to profitable with a $239 million Alberta government investment into the bioenergy industry, said a pioneer in the field. As part of the province’s new plan to encourage investment in bioenergy, projects that turn manure into electricity like at Highmark Renewables will get a six cents a […] Read more
Gov’t program not an easy ride: minister
As the pace of applications picks up for the government’s low farm income program, agriculture minister Chuck Strahl has a clear and stern message for those who qualify for help. Don’t consider it simply a way to buy more time on the farm to keep doing what you have been doing, hoping things get better. […] Read more
CAFTA’s trade lobby to remain important: new chief
The stalemate in World Trade Organization negotiations is no reason for Canada’s most prominent agricultural trade-promoting group to take a breather, says its new president. Instead, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance should step up its lobbying to sell the benefits of a world trade liberalizing deal, says Regina-area farmer Alanna Koch. “I think CAFTA’s role […] Read more
Strahl visit to focus on China trade
Federal agriculture minister Chuck Strahl visits China this week, trying to drum up Canadian food sales and opportunities for investment in one of the world’s largest economies. He said he will be raising everything from the safety of Canadian beef to the health benefits of canola. “We have a good relationship but it can grow […] Read more
