The promotional right hand doesn’t know what the regulatory left hand is doing. Effectively, that was the explanation offered by the Canadian government to a complaint from Greenpeace Canada that Ottawa is in a conflict of interest by investing in the development of genetically engineered wheat while also being responsible for approving its use in […] Read more
News
Ottawa responds to Greenpeace’s GM criticism
Farmers earn premiums for test varieties
Farmers will be able to get premiums ranging from $2.50-$10 per tonne under the Canadian Wheat board’s 2004-05 market development contract program. The varieties grown under the contracts are test marketed among potential customers, who use the limited available quantities for their milling and end-use qualities. This year the board will offer market development contracts […] Read more
Broker makes name in tough business
OUTLOOK, Sask. – Working in the traditionally male world of grain brokering isn’t as tough now for Jean Harrington as when she started selling her family’s crops 15 years ago. “There’s the very odd time I’ll come up against some resistance, but when I first started brokering our product way back in the late ’80s, […] Read more
Grower support key to pulse fund
A consultant hired by pulse grower groups has recommended a move away from the Canadian Grain Commission’s licensing and bonding system toward a farmer-funded producer protection system similar to that in Ontario. The same firm found considerable faults with that very model in a similar study it did on behalf of the grain commission two […] Read more
Provinces holding up queen bee imports
Canadian beekeepers hoping to import queen bees from the continental United States in time for the 2004 production season could be disappointed. The industry agreed this fall to accept the opening of the border to those imports, provided measures were in place to guard against unwanted disease and parasitic insects. It was a pivotal moment […] Read more
Gun registry not expected to get nixed
Critics of the federal gun registry say the new Liberal cabinet has a perfect opportunity to use a promised review of programs, spending and value-for-money to scrap or radically reform the controversial firearms program. But they are not holding their breath. “If this government and its much touted program and spending review do not wrestle […] Read more
Sask Party names shadow cabinet
Lyle Stewart, a farmer and rancher from Pense, Sask., has been named agriculture critic for the Saskatchewan Party. First elected to represent Thunder Creek in 1999, Stewart previously served as resources critic. The first of the provincial government’s ethanol plants was announced for his riding more than a year ago, but has not yet been […] Read more
NISA change not illegal: feds
The federal justice department has moved to dismiss a claim that changes made to Net Income Stabilization Accounts in 1994 were enacted after an improper vote by provinces. The application is expected to be heard in Regina on Jan. 16. “We chose to file a statement of defence but we also filed a motion of […] Read more
Food sector jobs increase
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen rarely passes up a chance to remind audiences that the tip that diners leave for restaurant servers is more than the farmers who grew the food receive. Statistics Canada now is reporting that there are more of those servers and bartenders making money from farmers than ever before, […] Read more
Controlling powdery mildew on field peas
Powdery mildew on field peas was a big problem in many areas in 2003. Some producers believe powdery mildew resistant varieties bought last spring did not work in the field. “Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that affects not only field peas but also other legumes such as alfalfa, vetch, lentil and lupine,” said Ken […] Read more
