Farmers head to legislature | The watershed authority says it is halfway through last year’s illegal drainage complaints
The Saskatchewan government is reminding farmers to follow the rules regarding water drainage. The issue has been around for decades, but two extremely wet years have exacerbated the problem. Farmers took their concerns to the legislature in Regina late last month, where they asked Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, to […] Read moreTag Archives Ag Finance
Lack of enforcement on drainage miffs farmers
Farmer-owned Alberta grain company expands, buys Saskatchewan elevator
Providence Grain Group of Alberta has acquired 97.3 percent of the outstanding common shares in Meridian Grain Corp. of Marengo, Sask., and will now move to acquire the remainder. A joint news release issued by the two companies last week said the conditions of Providence’s February offer to buy the outstanding shares had been met. […] Read more
Straw ethanol plant cancelled
Shell, Iogen behind plans | Commercialization of new technology more difficult than expected
Farmers are shrugging off news of the demise of a cellulose ethanol project that never seems to get off the ground. Royal Dutch Shell is scrapping plans to build a 40 million litre facility in Portage la Prairie, Man., which would have used technology provided by Iogen Energy, a company Shell jointly owns with Iogen […] Read moreOne year later…
Manitoba was dealing with two floods a year ago. First, the Red River flooded after months of anticipation, swamping farmland and farms and partially cutting off towns. Then weeks later, with much less warning, the Assiniboine and Souris rivers began swelling and spilling, creating panic and massive disruption for hundreds of kilometres throughout rural Manitoba. […] Read more
China’s booming food imports may slow
China’s voracious growth in imported grain and meat is slowing. The Chinese already eat lots of grains and oilseeds and as much pork as their richer Asian neighbours, says the commodities analysis team at Barclays Capital. After strong growth for several years, Chinese imports of crops and meat are likely to grow by only about […] Read more
Winter wheat on Glencore’s radar
A Saskatchewan farm group raised the lack of winter wheat contracts when it met with the future owner of the province’s largest grain company. Representatives of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan told Chris Mahoney, director of agricultural products at Glencore International, that the lack of such a contract is a sore point with the […] Read more
Workshops help Albertans map watershed future
The regional advisory council for the South Saskatchewan regional plan made the following recommendations about agriculture:
The workbook and questionnaire in which citizens are asked to give their views on future development in the South Saskatchewan River watershed is 74 pages long. Input will be used to form Alberta legislation governing economic development, agriculture, land use and recreation in the region for poten-tially the next 50 years. That combination makes Sarah […] Read moreGood times in ag ease budget cuts
Booming sector | The Conservatives want less taxpayer support and more private investment
While more details about government cuts to Agriculture Canada spending could be tabled in Parliament as early as this week, senior officials last week laid out the broad themes. Greg Meredith, assistant agriculture deputy minister for strategic policy, told senators that the farm sector is booming, which translates into less need for taxpayer support, although […] Read moreEuro zone worries, crop expectations trump reports of old-crop stocks
Grain markets will likely follow stock markets down this week as nervous traders assess political changes in Europe, where voters rejected austerity minded governments in France and Greece. Since the debt troubles in Greece morphed into a continental crisis, the response, led by Germany, has been to require governments to slash spending and develop plans […] Read more
Sanitation important in preventing coccidiosis
I frequently receive calls at this time of year from producers and veterinarians about dealing with outbreaks of coccidiosis. Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease that can infect all farm animal species. However, the parasites that cause coccidiosis are host specific, in that there are species of the parasite that infect only cattle and other species […] Read more
