Prevention and control | If you don’t need it, don’t use it, says a plant pathologist, who stresses proper crop rotations
A cereal pathologist with the Crop Development Centre in Saskatoon says conditions in Saskatchewan are ideal for cereal diseases this year. Randy Kutcher said in addition to well-known pathogens, growers should be on the lookout for fusarium and stripe rust, which were not even on the radar for many Saskatchewan producers a few years ago. […] Read moreTag Archives Ag Finance
Fusarium, stripe rust strengthen as crop threats
2013 seed supply safe
GEORGETOWN, Ont. — Producers worry that the drought that has gripped the United States and Eastern Canada may threaten next year’s seed supply. But there is no cause for alarm, according to Canada’s largest seed supplier. DuPont Pioneer, which claims it sells twice as much seed in the Canadian market than its next largest competitor, […] Read more
Canola’s yield potential still to be tapped
GEORGETOWN, Ont. — Canola acres may be reaching a plateau in Western Canada, but yields are nowhere near their potential, according to a leading seed company. “We’re really just in the beginning, the early stages,” Dave Charne, global canola research director for DuPont Pioneer, told a group of journalists touring the company’s Georgetown Research Centre. […] Read more
Wheat yields fall in Russia, Australia
Drought in the U.S. corn belt has been grabbing most of the headlines but another drought halfway around the world could have serious ramifications for wheat markets. SovEcon is forecasting that Russia will harvest 46.5 million tonnes of wheat in 2012-13. That is well below the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s July estimate of 49 million […] Read more
Deputy ag minister has trade experience
Prime minister Stephen Harper has announced a significant changing of the guard at the top of the Agriculture Canada bureaucracy that will influence the way farm policy evolves. On Sept. 17, deputy agriculture minister John Knubley will move to the same position at Industry Canada. He has been at agriculture for three years. His last […] Read more
Slide, not crash, predicted
Supply and demand | The crop wreck in the U.S. corn belt will tighten supply and send up prices
Spiking crop markets can collapse as quickly as they rise. But while some predict that collapse will happen soon with U.S. corn, soybean and wheat markets, some market analysts think the slide might not be that sharp. That means good prices for most crops are likely to stick around for Canadian producers, regardless of what […] Read morePower line route opponents question need
Hinged on wind farm project? | Residents want to know if the transmission line is required if the wind project is nixed
TWIN BUTTE, Alta. — Southern Alberta residents in the path of a potential 240 kilovolt electrical line project are not convinced the line is needed for Alberta’s future electrical needs. They are also convinced the line is not wanted in their area south and east of Pincher Creek, on a route that skirts Waterton Lakes […] Read moreSaskatchewan funds CWD research
New funding from the Saskatchewan government will help officials continue to monitor the spread of chronic wasting disease, says the executive director of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre. The province recently announced a research grant of up to $170,000 for the centre. The CCWHC, with the co-operation of the environment ministry, operates a surveillance […] Read more
Alberta sheep make historic trip to Vietnam
It is an arduous trip by any standard: drive from Bowden, Alta., to Vancouver, board a commercial Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany, stop briefly before flying to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and then travel another 440 kilometres to Nha Trang. Fifteen sheep arrived in Vietnam July 9. They also made history as the first […] Read more
Take precautions to avoid infectious diseases from cattle
Infectious diseases that people get from animals often fly under the radar, but they are important to consider, especially for people who work closely with animals. Cattle can transfer bacteria to people through contaminated meat and milk products. E. coli, salmonella and listeria are most often the culprits of food-borne illness. Cases of food poisoning […] Read more
