UPDATED: October 9, 2020 – 15:25 CST – A large grain elevator in the western Saskatchewan village of Marengo was destroyed by fire on the night of Oct. 8. The Kindersley Fire and Rescue Brigade responded about 10:45 pm, followed by fire departments from Eatonia, Kerrobert and Oyen. Marengo is located about 45 kilometres from […] Read more
News
Protein supercluster defends against critical report
Protein Industries Canada remains confident in its pace of funding projects to grow the sector, despite a recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The PBO reported the governing Liberals 2017 Innovation Superclusters Initiative has been slow to select projects and spend money. In 2017, five superclusters were given a total of $918 million to […] Read more
Alberta irrigation gets major financial boost
Another 200,000 acres of southern Alberta farmland will be irrigated in coming years as a result of an $815 million injection into the region’s agricultural industry. That will add to the existing 1.3 million acres already under irrigation in the south. The funds will be used to build four new off-stream water storage reservoirs, adding […] Read more
Popular wheat varieties removed from royalty pilot
Seed distribution company SeCan has withdrawn two of its most promising new wheat varieties from a controversial seed variety use agreement (SVUA) pilot project. SeCan officials say CWRS wheat varieties AAC Wheatland and AAC Starbuck will not be included in the SVUA pilot project, which would require commercial grain farmers to pay royalties each time […] Read more
Conference cancellations cause headaches
The cancellation of crop conferences in the three prairie provinces has created challenges for farm groups. COVID-19 has caused the cancellation of FarmTech in Alberta, CropSphere in Saskatchewan and CropConnect in Manitoba. That is forcing provincial commodity groups to find new ways to hold their annual general meetings and disseminate important agronomic research and markets […] Read more
Man. abandons grazing lease auction
For the next five weeks, cattle ranchers in Manitoba can share their views about crown land leases. Last fall, the provincial government amended the rules for agricultural Crown land leases, shortening the lease from 50 to 15 years, changing to an open auction to bid on available leases and increasing the rental rate. The province […] Read more
Soybean yields recover
After three disappointing years, Manitoba soybean growers finally have something to celebrate. Yields are better than expected in much of the province, with many growers achieving bushel per acre yields in the 40s and 50s. “Yield reports ranged from 35 to 60 bu. per acre with many producers noting that their yield expectations were being […] Read more
Anti-trade sentiment grips America
Blake Hurst senses shifting trade winds in the United States, and he doesn’t like the direction they are blowing. “Agriculture faces some real dangers from a change in our opinion and our approach to trade,” said the president of the Missouri Farm Bureau. There is a growing feeling inside and outside of Washington that trade […] Read more
Ottawa urged to act before agricultural safety net fails
Failing to add major big-money elements to farm support programs ignores dramatic events like sudden market access losses and threatens to make AgriStability irrelevant
Farmers face financial ruin if Canada’s farm safety net isn’t radically expanded, says an analysis by economic outfit Agri-Food Economic Systems. Tweaks and improvements won’t save farmers from being crushed by subsidies being offered to American farmers and an increasingly protectionist world trading system. “The elements are lining up to present much greater risks to […] Read more
Grain commission continues work on moisture test discrepancies
The Canadian Grain Commission says it will continue to provide guidance on steps that grain farmers and grain elevators should take to ensure they get accurate readings from their grain moisture testers. Again this year, prairie farmers have expressed frustration over what they describe as “costly discrepancies” in grain moisture readings. Moisture readings from 919-type […] Read more
