(WSask.ca)

Saskatchewan to tap farm leaders for drainage board

Representatives from four Saskatchewan farmer organizations will sit on a new provincial advisory board on farm drainage policy. The provincial government on Tuesday announced the creation of two advisory boards: a policy development board and technical review board. Specific members haven’t yet been named to either board, but the province said the policy advisory board […] Read more


(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Canada taps veteran negotiator to drive talks on NAFTA

Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s senior negotiator at talks to renew NAFTA will be the official who worked for years to push through a major free trade deal with Europe, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Steve Verheul faces another challenge as he deals with the U.S., which is threatening to walk […] Read more

Consumers are just figuring out what food fraud is to them, Sylvain Charlebois says. (John Greig photo)

Greig: Food fraud a challenge to whole food supply chain

Farmers are used to the conversation about how to manage trust with consumers. Food companies are learning it too, and finding food fraud to be a significant concern. Food fraud “comes back to trust,” according to Renata McGuire of NSF Consulting and Technical Services. “Do I trust this brand?” McGuire, along with Sylvain Charlebois, dean […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Farm sales to co-ops to count for small business deduction

Changes to federal tax law that were meant to block “multiplication” of the small business deduction for corporations won’t apply to farmers’ sales to co-operatives. The federal government on Friday released draft amendments to the Income Tax Act, which would allow qualifying farmers and fishers selling to agricultural and fisheries co-operatives to be eligible for […] Read more


CoCoRaHS’s map of precipitation over southern Ontario and Quebec for May 5, 2017. (Cocorahs.org)

Towns evacuated as heavy rains pelt Eastern Canada

Toronto/Ottawa | Reuters — Torrential rains lashed parts of central and Eastern Canada on Friday, causing flooding, flight delays and traffic disruptions, and the prime minister said the federal government was ready to provide help if necessary. The provinces of Ontario and Quebec have been dealing with the fallout of heavy spring rainfall this week, […] Read more

Farmer Brian Derksen seeds wheat on May 2, 2017 near Miami, Man., about 80 km south of Portage la Prairie. (Screengrab from Allan Dawson video)

Prairie seeding off to ‘shaky start’

CNS Canada — Western Canada will likely see some favourable seeding conditions in the short term, one meteorologist says, though wet pockets in some areas need longer to dry out. “We are getting off to a little bit of a shaky start in some spots, but it looks like the weather pattern is going to […] Read more

Jon Neutens. (Supplied photo)

Glacier Media strengthens weather, ag technology team

Glacier Media, a leading Canadian business information news, insights and data supplier, has appointed Jonathan Neutens as president of its Weather Innovations Consulting (WIN) group. Neutens, who has more than 20 years experience in North America’s agribusiness sector, will lead the team at WIN to scale its business in the ag technology space, building on the existing […] Read more


Quebec flooding forces hundreds from homes

Montreal | Reuters — Flooding in towns across Quebec has forced hundreds of residents from their homes, and public security officials fear water levels will rise further with forecasters expecting rain Friday, local media reported on Wednesday. Heavy rains early this week have flooded towns in several areas across the predominately French-language province, including two […] Read more

(Dow.com)

Proposed Dow, DuPont merger gets conditional nod from China

Beijing | Reuters — China has conditionally approved the proposed merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont, the country’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday, a step forward for the deal whose closing has been repeatedly delayed by regulatory hurdles. The merger was approved by EU antitrust regulators in March on the condition the companies divest assets […] Read more