The federal government has pledged over $200,000 for efforts to boost the public profile of farmers’ markets in British Columbia. Speaking Saturday in Burnaby, B.C. MP James Moore announced $219,000 for a strategic plan for farmers’ markets, funded through the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) program, delivered in the province through the Investment Agriculture […] Read more
Feds back B.C. farmers’ markets
Drenched Man. farmers to get forage aid program
Manitoba’s provincial government has pledged to set up a forage assistance program (MFAP) to help livestock producers in parts of the province hit by recent overland flooding. Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced the province’s commitment to such a program Sunday after touring areas affected by overland flooding in recent days in the Interlake, the region […] Read more
Mexico bans Alberta breeding cattle
Mexico has banned imports of breeding cattle from Alberta in the wake of the latest case of BSE discovered in the province last week. The ban does not affect imports of Canadian beef. The federal government was notified of the ban on Wednesday. “They’re (Mexico is) very concerned that if they’re bringing in an older […] Read more
Healthy food communication ideas sought in Ontario
Ontario Agri-Food Education (OAFE) encouraging proposals to receive funds from its $450,000 Healthy Eating Program, which is aimed at communicating the health benefits of Ontario-grown food. OAFE executive director Colleen Smith-Robinson says proposals are also encouraged from those outside traditional agriculture circles. “We have carefully considered our goals and objectives, target market and evaluation criteria. […] Read more
Monsanto unloads bovine hormone business
Eli Lilly and Company will buy Monsanto’s Posilac division for US$300 million, the companies announced Aug. 20. Monsanto put its bovine somatotropin business up for sale a few weeks ago, saying it wanted to focus more on its core strengths selling high-tech seeds and weed control to farmers. Elanco, headquartered in Greenfield Indiana, is the […] Read more
StatsCan hog report shows rapid restructuring
Canada’s hog industry is continuing its record of rapid consolidation according to a report by Statistics Canada that shows one in five hog producers has left the industry since the start of 2008. On January 1 there were 9,725 farms raising hogs in Canada and as of July 1 that had fallen to 8,740. The […] Read more
Grain Services Union head calls foul over Viterra replacement workers
The head of the union representing grain handler Viterra’s striking office workers says he’s unhappy with some of the company’s tactics. The company has confirmed it is trying to recruit temporary replacement workers for its head office to replace the 200 employees, who have been on strike since July 7. It also says it will […] Read more
Canada’s 14th mad cow found in Alta.
A six-year-old beef cow from an Alberta farm is Canada’s 14th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Friday. CFIA said in a release that this latest case shouldn’t affect exports of Canadian cattle or beef, though the cow was born well after Ottawa imposed its 1997 ban on the […] Read more
Amendments end KVD on wheat imports
The federal government has changed its Seeds Regulations to take the kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) requirements off imports of wheat seed into Western Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced Friday that the amendments were published in the Aug. 6 Canada Gazette, Part II. The amendments repeal the KVD requirements for wheat imported into […] Read more
N.S., P.E.I. ag income at “rock bottom”: report
A new study on farm economic viability in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island finds the two provinces’ farmers “now earning less than at any time in the last four decades.” That, in turn, leaves the provinces’ rural communities at serious risk, according to the report released Friday by GPI Atlantic, a non-profit think tank […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
