This may be one of those rare years of peace and harmony between farmers and fowl. If the clear weather holds, farmers might be able to get their crops harvested before migrating ducks and geese arrive to clean up the fields. “If the fall keeps coming in early, it might not be a problem,” said […] Read more
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No buffet for birds with early harvest
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Wanted: Information on the Champniss family that lived in the Hodgeville, Sask., area from 1914 onward. Frederick and Emily Champniss were homesteaders and had a daughter Lillian who married A.L. Austin, and a son, George Albert (born 1912) who went to school in Kelston, moved to Winnipeg in 1936, married Eldora Helen in 1938 or […] Read more
Excitement over possible flax crusher
A British Columbia company is checking out a few prairie towns and thinking about spending $30 million to build a flax seed crushing plant. A plant making flax oil for human consumption is a potential development that’s delighting the underdeveloped flax industry. “It’s really welcome news,” said Flax Council of Canada chair Eric Fridfinnson. “I […] Read more
Simplot sells fertilizer plant
It will take time for the buyer of the Simplot fertilizer plant in Brandon to decide what changes are in order, but the plant’s use of natural gas will come under the microscope. Koch Nitrogen Fertilizer Holding, a company based in Wichita, Kansas, recently announced it is buying the nitrogen fertilizer business of Simplot Canada, […] Read more
Agri-Coaches Corner/Crop Report
MANITOBA Eastern Spring cereal harvest is nearly complete with better than average yield and quality. Canola harvest has begun with 20 to 40 bushels per acre yields. Heat and drought caused pod and flower abortion in soybeans, resulting in a highly variable crop. Sunflower and corn crops are in good condition. Pastures show signs of […] Read more
Manitoba canola crusher focuses on specialty food oil
Another prairie canola crusher is expanding. Associated Proteins, the company that bought the mothballed Ste. Agathe, Man., crushing plant and reactivated it in 2005, is now completing the commissioning of its refining facilities. That will move production to 1,000 tonnes per day from 700 tonnes per day. It also plans to expand production to 2,000 […] Read more
Change will aid plant innovation: breeders
In an attempt to keep benign crops from getting tangled up in regulations primarily designed for products of biotechnology, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is revamping its definition of plants with novel traits. The move comes at the behest of angry plant breeders who complain that confusion over the definition makes an already lousy regulation […] Read more
Election code may muzzle CWB
The Canadian Wheat Board’s ability to take part in the debate about its future this fall could be restricted by its own election code of conduct. The code says the board has to avoid any activity that “detracts from a public perception of integrity and impartiality” during director elections. With the board’s future as a […] Read more
Mailbox
Wanted: Information on the Champniss family that lived in the Hodgeville, Sask., area from 1914 onward. Frederick and Emily Champniss were homesteaders and had a daughter Lillian who married A.L. Austin, and a son, George Albert (born 1912) who went to school in Kelston, moved to Winnipeg in 1936, married Eldora Helen in 1938 or […] Read more
Controversial ag official gets World Bank posting
Samy Watson was one of the key architects of the agricultural policy framework that promised to move Canadian farmers “beyond crisis management” but has not been able to stem three years of record-low farm incomes. Now, Watson will represent Canada and several other countries at an international organization created to reduce global poverty and to […] Read more
