WETASKIWIN, Alta. – Once farmers put out the welcome mat for visitors to the farm, they need to make sure they make the visit as memorable as possible, says an Alberta Agriculture farm marketing specialist. Part of creating that memorable experience is having enough choice for every visitor, said Kerry Engel of Alberta Agriculture’s agri-entrepreneurship […] Read more
News
Make your farm an ‘experience’
Veggie packer restructures
The president of Agristar Produce Inc. says his company continues to operate while under protection from its creditors, and will successfully negotiate a restructuring. Frank Gatto said Jan. 26 the company had sought protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act earlier this month after some creditors weren’t willing to wait while it reorganized on its […] Read more
Lab gets funding
Better methods of protecting calves from respiratory and intestinal diseases could be just around the corner. That’s one of the tangible benefits farmers can expect from a $27 million expansion at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. “Within the next year or two years, you’ll see that our vaccine development will start […] Read more
Chinese expansion plan gets mixed reaction
When a country that is home to more than one billion people pledges to increase grain production, farmers in other parts of the world better pay attention. In the face of huge imports of American soybeans, premier Wen Jiabao recently promised China’s grain producers their government will put more money into agriculture and farming infrastructure. […] Read more
Grain transportation reform on hold
Farmers and grain shippers hoping for improvements to Canada’s grain transportation rules will likely have to wait at least another 18 months. And the shape of the new legislation may depend as much on what happens south of the border as within Canada. “We’d be very surprised if anything happened before the federal election,” said […] Read more
Specialty oil acres growing on Prairies
Cargill intends to register two hybrid specialty canolas this winter as it moves toward 100 percent hybrid production in that part of its business. Growers attending a seminar in Regina last week heard that contracts for the company’s specialty program went quickly last fall, indicating optimism about the future of the industry. But a couple […] Read more
Big machinery sales brisk in 2003
At Jim Keating’s farm equipment dealership in Weyburn, Sask., these are the dog days of January when big-ticket items rarely move out the door. “This is not the time of year when you get people jumping up and down to get their signature on a new combine,” he said with a laugh during a Jan. […] Read more
PM sounds unity note
Prime minister Paul Martin says world leaders must talk more to each other and be prepared to inject more “soul-searching and head-knocking” into negotiations such as the thorny issue of agricultural trade and subsidy rules. He used a Jan. 23 speech at a world economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, to urge more informal political discussions […] Read more
Dirty oats need not apply, says Quaker
Large mounds of oats piled in farmyards and fields are not unusual, but Bruce Roskens would rather not see them. The senior manager of agricultural research and commodity development at Quaker Foods and Beverages told farmers attending a Cargill information day that dirty oats is the company’s main concern. “We have more dirt in our […] Read more
AWB operates without government net
As the Canadian Wheat Board watched wheat prices collapse in the winter of 2002-03, it could take comfort in the federal government committment to cover losses in the pool account. Its counterpart in Australia had no such comfort zone. AWB Ltd., that country’s privately owned single desk selling agency, knew that if market returns dipped […] Read more
