QUEBEC CITY — When a World Trade Organization decision comes down on United States country-of-origin labelling rules, likely on June 29, the U.S will lose again, predicts an American meat industry leader. In the end, not much will change, American Meat Institute senior official Mark Dopp told the Canadian Meat Council annual meeting June 1. […] Read more
Tag Archives Ag Finance
World Trade Organization ruling unlikely to change U.S. labelling laws
Regional group receives funding
A regional group that helps find opportunities for southern Alberta development has received $730,000 through two provincial grants. Southgrow Regional Initiative, an alliance of 22 south-central Alberta communities, received $480,000 from the Rural Development Alberta Fund and $250,000 in regional collaboration program funding from Alberta Municipal Affairs. Southgrow chair Sandra Nelson said the funding will […] Read more
Taking big picture approach can produce payoff
Imagine you’ve created a great product and have monthly sales of $30,000, even though you only sell it at a farmers’ market on weekends. What would you do next? If you’re Jennifer Broe, you shut down your stall, pull your product off the market and spend the next four years revamping your business plan. That […] Read more
Can there be only one?
We may very well be on the verge of The Quickening for hard red spring wheat futures. Some think There Can Be Only One when it comes to the the question of how many futures contracts will be used by Canadian prairie farmers to hedge their hard red spring wheat. I think that it is […] Read more
Enjoying the bison bounce
I haven’t covered the bison industry much for years. I don’t cover beefy type livestock much at all anyway, but with bison everything seemed to go all bad about a decade ago. I remember writing stories about imploding prices, meat gluts, bankruptcies and all sorts of woe. It wasn’t the kind of stuff that makes […] Read more
Fruit growers collaborate on saskatoon research
Possible checkoff | The Saskatoon Berry Council will collect samples to analyze and promote the fruit’s health properties
Saskatchewan fruit growers can’t build an industry on their own, say two industry officials. The Saskatchewan Fruit Growers Association (SFGA) and the Sask-atoon Berry Council of Canada (SBCC) hope to prove that there’s power in numbers by collecting information from individual producers about prairie fruit production. “As an industry, it’s no different than the canola […] Read moreFarm boom carries to 2012
The farm revenue boom that hit in 2011 with a 12 percent increase in cash receipts continued with a flourish during the first quarter of 2012. Statistics Canada reported last week that cash receipts during the first three months of 2012 increased 17 percent over the previous year’s record levels. The numbers showed a continued […] Read more
Some fruit growers eligible for insurance
Some commercial fruit growers in Saskatchewan are eligible for Saskatchewan Crop Insurance for the first time, following significant damages from flooding in recent years. The program doesn’t cover yield or quality losses, but offers coverage for saskatoon, sour cherry and haskap producers who lose fruit-producing trees. “It’s a start,” said Wayne Pearson, president of the […] Read more
New loan may aid expansion
ATB Financial in Alberta | Program aimed at mid-size businesses
A new loan program could help established Alberta producers become bigger. ATB Financial announced a new $100 million business growth fund last week with the strength of the western Canadian economy in mind. “Essentially these are stretch working capital loans,” said Wellington Holbrook, ATB’s executive vice-president for business and agriculture. The program is intended to […] Read moreWhen is a pick-up truck not considered a truck?
Extended cab pick-up trucks are often seen on farms . However, while the extra passenger space is useful, most farmers would tell you their truck is first and foremost a working vehicle. The Canada Revenue Agency has tended to disagree and has challenged and reassessed individuals for claims relating to a pick-up truck with extended […] Read more
