Details this autumn | The transport minister says the bill will provide service and dispute resolution guidelines
Despite railway assertions that they do not want legislation that sets rules for improved service levels for commodity shippers, the federal government says a bill is coming. However, shippers do not know when it will come or what it will say. Liberal critic Ralph Goodale says he is skeptical it will say much at all. […] Read moreTag Archives Ag Finance
Level of rail service bill in the works: Ritz
Supply management shouldn’t be pawn: DFC
Import restrictions | Countries are demanding concessions for a seat at the Pacific trade talks
Dairy farmers have rejected a recommendation that Canada should offer supply management import liberalization as the price for joining new trade talks. However, a Dairy Farmers of Canada representative also notes that the report from former negotiator Michael Gifford highlights the fact that other countries, including the United States, maintain protected agricultural sectors. Therese Beaulieu, […] Read moreSask. RMs, province offer beaver bounty
First year deemed a success | Registered trappers get $30 for each beaver killed
A popular program aimed at reducing the number of beavers in Saskatchewan municipalities has been relaunched for a second year. Officials at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities say the Beaver Control Program was an overwhelming success last year. The province-wide program resulted in the removal of at least 30,000 beavers during a 12-month period […] Read morePremium sought for non-GM soybeans
The Ontario soybean industry is trying to figure out how to persuade producers to grow non-genetically modified soybeans when GM beans earn $14 per bushel. Ontario is one of the world’s major players in the non-GM, or food grade, soybean market. The province’s farmers have seeded 2.3 to 2.4 million acres of soybeans a year […] Read more
Federal budget cuts affect everyone
The first budget from the Conservative majority government created a lot of speculation about how it would use this opportunity to shape Canada’s future. Spending cuts and deficits were the main themes in this year’s budget, but how far did the axe really fall when slashing federal spending? The government expects a deficit of $24.9 […] Read more
Farmers get 100 percent ownership of pulse plant
Blue Hills Ventures | Legumex Walker says increased processing capabilities within the company prompted sale of shares
Legumex Walker Inc. has sold its minority stake in one of Saskatchewan’s largest pulse processing plants. The company sold its 20 percent share in Blue Hills Processors (2003) Ltd. back to Blue Hills Ventures, a farmer owned company that now owns 100 percent of the Avonlea, Sask., plant. “Our relationship with Blue Hills has served […] Read morePork, beef exporters eager for deal with Japan
Negotiations underway | Canada seeks greater access and lower import tariffs
A senior federal international trade official is in Tokyo this week to help arrange the launch of Canada-Japanese trade talks that agricultural export interests say are a significant opportunity. Ian Burney, assistant deputy minister in the foreign affairs and international trade department, told MPs on the House of Commons international trade committee last week that […] Read moreNew complex boosts research abilities
‘The sky’s the limit’ | $17 million, 60,000 sq. foot facility in Brooks, Alta., is suited for both large and small scale projects
BROOKS, Alta. — Pat Cote has famous hands. She has worked at Alberta Agriculture’s Crop Development Centre in Brooks for about 20 years and her hands have appeared in numerous photos for brochures, reports and the media. Cote is now putting her hands to the task of monitoring operations in a new $17 million, 60,000 […] Read moreNear infrared technology helps new seed sorter get job done
A new state-of-the-art infrared seed sorter has been installed at the University of Saskatchewan’s Canadian Feed Research Centre in North Battleford, Sask. The BoMill TriQ seed sorter can sort as many as 20,000 seeds per second using near infrared technology. It can analyze every seed in a sample according to criteria such as moisture content, […] Read more
New senator hopes to be voice of agriculture
JoAnne Buth | Former Canola Council of Canada president surprised by agriculture industry’s lack of profile in Ottawa
One of the first things JoAnne Buth did last winter as a newly minted Conservative prairie senator was to request a report by a Liberal predecessor. As chair of the Senate agriculture committee in the 1980s, Liberal Herb Sparrow produced the Soils at Risk report on soil conservation, which has become the Senate’s all-time best […] Read more
