Gladioli are easy to care for. Just give them lots of water, good soil, plenty of sunshine and a few bamboo stakes to support their tall flower spikes. I grow my glads in rows in the vegetable garden because I use them as cut flowers, but when planted in clumps in mixed borders, they provide […] Read more
Tag Archives Ag Finance
Gladioli produce bountiful blooms in array of colours
Grants show gov’t support: short lines
Saskatchewan’s short-line railway companies will receive $700,000 in provincial government grants this year. The grants, awarded annually under the province’s Shortline Railway Sustainability Program, are meant to improve the condition of provincially regulated short-line railways and can be used for projects such as track maintenance, tie replacements and bridge repairs. The program offers infrastructure grants […] Read more
New ag minister possibilities pondered
Few PC rural MLAs | Premier Alison Redford has few MLAs to choose from with ag experience
Who will be Alberta’s next agriculture minister? That’s the question many rural Albertan’s are asking after the April 23 election in which much of rural Alberta voted for the Wildrose party. All but two of the 17 Wildrose candidates are from rural areas of central and southern Alberta. The Progressive Conservative government normally has many […] Read moreDurum growers are big winners in Moroccan trade deal
The CWB says a late April trade trip to Morocco by agriculture minister Gerry Ritz could help Canada maintain its dominant position in the Moroccan durum market. During an April 26 conference call from Morocco, Ritz announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to improve agricultural co-operation between the two countries. Canada and the […] Read more
Producer car grain will have to meet tougher specs
Penalties possible | Under the CWB, producer car shipments with off-spec grain were blended but tolerance levels will tighten after Aug. 1
Farmers who ship grain on producer cars should expect to be held to a higher level of accountability after Aug. 1. Murdoch MacKay, chair of a committee examining the future role of short-line railways and producer cars in Western Canada, says producer cars will likely remain a popular shipping option for prairie farmers after single […] Read moreNorthern port wants to buy its own grain
The company that owns the Port of Churchill has applied for a license to buy grain in Canada. Officials from OmniTrax Canada said the company has applied to the Canadian Grain Commission for a grain dealers’ licence that would allow it to buy grain directly from farmers. The company is also looking for ways to […] Read more
EU takes firm stand on dairy
Prairie livestock producers should not expect more access to the European Union if Canadian access isn’t expanded for European dairy exporters, says the EU chief diplomat in Canada. “It’s the overall balance which is important,” ambassador Matthias Brinkmann told reporters in Ottawa April 26. “For the Prairies, the beef issue is a big one and […] Read more
New fungicide hits shelves
New fungal products have reached the market this spring. Makhteshim Agan, MANA, has registered its version of the popular Quilt fungicide. Called Blanket AP, the product uses the two active ingredients propiconazole and azoxystrobin, groups 3 and 11, respectively. The latter is a broad spectrum strobilurin fungicide with both preventive and curative activities. It treats […] Read more
Clubroot DNA found in Manitoba
Disease DNA discovered in soil | Two fields test positive but no symptoms seen in plants
Manitoba is still officially free of clubroot, but DNA of the disease has been discovered in the province. Manitoba Agriculture announced in late April that soil samples taken last August from two canola fields tested positive for clubroot DNA at extremely low levels. The positive tests came from samples taken as part of the Manitoba […] Read moreProspect of big crops doesn’t shake the market
Farmer intentions to seed a record large canola crop and put a record low number of acres into summerfallow would in the past pressure markets lower. But not this year. Nothing to get excited about, said the market, which pushed crop prices higher after Statistics Canada released its seeding intentions report. Record large U.S. corn […] Read more
