New York | Reuters — Facing deeply entrenched differences and political headwinds, the top negotiators trying to reach a sweeping U.S.-European free trade deal avoided agriculture, public procurement and other […] Read more
Apples

U.S., European trade negotiators battle political headwinds
Farms.com buys Better Farming
A U.S. online agriculture firm has taken another step into paper and ink with a deal for independent Ontario ag journal Better Farming. Ames, Iowa-based Farms.com announced last week it […] Read more

Nova Scotia pledges food donation tax credit in budget
A tax credit for Nova Scotia farmers who donate produce to local food banks is among the policy plans laid out in the province’s latest budget. Finance Minister Randy Delorey’s […] Read more

Doomsday Vault keepers move to lock up more funding
Oslo | Reuters — The Crop Trust, which runs a so-called doomsday seed vault in the Arctic, secured a doubling of its core funds on Friday and urged the private […] Read more

Ad Feature: Edmonton firm acquires water works capacity
Edmonton-based Stantec Inc., an engineering and infrastructure consulting company, has announced the biggest deal in its 62-year history. The all-cash deal for Broomfield, Colorado-based MWH Global, which Stantec said is […] Read more

EU food safety experts warn on crop insecticide
Brussels | Reuters –– Dimethoate, an insecticide widely used to protect crops such as cherries, could be harmful to humans, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which advises EU policymakers, […] Read more

Farmland fundamentals potentially bearish: FCC
Having tracked more double-digit percentage increases in Canadian farmland prices through 2015, Canada’s federal farm lender sees factors lining up for those values to retreat. Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values […] Read more

Wine, foreign content now covered in organic pact with EU
The deal that clears Canadian-certified organic food for sale as organic in the European Union is now expanded to cover Canadian-processed products with some imported ingredients — and to include […] Read more

California rules led to near 25 per cent cut in water use
Sacramento | Reuters –– Residents and businesses in drought-stricken California cut back water use by nearly 25 per cent from June 2015 through the end of February 2016 — enough […] Read more

B.C. pulls PST for farm telehandlers, skid steers
Qualifying farmers in British Columbia are now able to buy telehandlers, skid steers and polycarbonate greenhouse panels for farm use without paying the province’s seven per cent sales tax. The […] Read more