The canola industry has made no progress toward its goal of increasing the national average yield to 52 bushels per acre by 2025, according to Statistics Canada data. This year’s average was 40.1 bu., according to the Production of Principal Field Crops report released last week. That is nearly identical to the base line yield […] Read more
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Organic farming’s environmental friendliness questioned
The rise of the organic farming movement was touted as a way to save the planet and better protect the environment. But over the decades, the sector has drifted away from those original principles, says a University of British Columbia professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Environmental Change and Food Security. Nowadays, organic agriculture […] Read more
Worries raised over food export future at West Coast
The operation of a major canola oil exporter at the port of Vancouver is in jeopardy without a lease extension, says the company and other agricultural interests. West Coast Reduction, which is also a large renderer from animal processing on the Prairies and a supplier to the biofuels industry, sits on a six-acre parcel on […] Read more
Warning issued on oil lease class action suit
Alberta lawyer defends it as way to get action on unpaid compensation, but a surface rights advocate suggests caution
Alberta farmers need to fully understand their options before taking part in any class action lawsuits against energy companies for unpaid compensation for oil and gas wells, says a surface rights advocate. “I don’t fault law firms for trying to help landowners, but I don’t think this is a solution,” said Daryl Bennett, director of […] Read more
Organic sector wants certification crackdown
Leaders in the organic agriculture sector are frustrated with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and its lack of action on organic fraud. They say Canada has fallen behind the United States and other nations that are cracking down on fraudulent organic imports and cases of domestic fraud. An organic producer, who asked not to be […] Read more
Supply management bill receives cold reception
Bloc Quebecois MP introduces a private member’s bill that would make concessions in future trade negotiations illegal
A private member’s bill that would make it illegal to include supply management concessions in future trade deals has received second reading in Parliament and attracted attention outside the House. The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance released a letter to the prime minister and opposition leaders asking them not to support the bill, even though all […] Read more
New Alberta feedlot ready to buy cattle next year
The project near Enchant is thought to be the first large from-scratch facility to be built in this region of the province in the past 10 years
A new 40,000-head feedlot north of Enchant, Alta., is on pace to start accepting cattle as early as March. Serfas Farms began the project in June and it is expected to be fully complete in the third quarter of 2021. The new build is likely the first large from-scratch feedlot to be built in the […] Read more
Emergency pet food banks planned in Sask.
Eight Saskatchewan food banks based mainly in rural areas have signed on to establish emergency pet food banks. The intention is to keep pets with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Josh Hourie, community relations co-ordinator at the Saskatchewan SPCA, said people shouldn’t have to decide between feeding themselves or their pets if they find […] Read more
Crop rotations in corn back in spotlight
New emphasis put on importance of rotations now that western corn rootworm has developed resistance to Bt varieties
The western corn rootworm has been a major pest in the United States for decades. Called the “billion dollar beetle” in the U.S. Midwest, it has been a huge economic issue for over 50 years. The pest is found across Canada. In 2016, it was first detected in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley with populations reaching […] Read more
To new pastures – photo essay
Photo essay | The Greaves family picked a nice day recently to move their herd to a new corn grazing pasture near Deerwood, Man. Temperatures were above zero and the wind was calm. | Jeannette Greaves photos
The Greaves family picked a nice day recently to move their herd to a new corn grazing pasture near Deerwood, Man. Temperatures were above zero and the wind was calm. | Jeannette Greaves photos
