The minister in charge of Newfoundland and Labrador’s agrifoods agency has wound up unemployed in the governing Tories’ march to a third majority provincial government in a row. Shawn Skinner, the MHA for St. John’s Centre and the provincial minister of natural resources since December last year, lost his seat Tuesday night to the NDP’s […] Read more
N.L. Tories win majority, lose ag minister
Raw milk access a matter for consumers, not dairyman: Ruling
Getting handy access to unpasteurized or “raw” milk in Ontario will take a legal challenge by its consumers, not by a dairyman whose cows provide it, a recent court ruling finds. Judge Peter Tetley of the Ontario Court of Justice so ruled Sept. 28 in overturning most of last year’s acquittals on 19 charges against […] Read more
U.S. seen unlikely to hit advanced biofuel goal
The United States will likely fail to reach its long-term mandate for making advanced ethanol from trees, grasses and crop waste unless producers innovate significantly, a scientific advisory group said last week. The National Research Council's comments are the latest sign that backers of alternative fuels must wait longer for "next-generation" ethanol. Touted as the[...]
Klassen: Fed cattle lead feeders higher
The weaker Canadian dollar, along with stronger beef prices and lower market-ready supplies, caused fed cattle to jump $4 per hundredweight (cwt) last week. Alberta packers paid up to $111/cwt in a struggle to fill nearby demand. Feeder cattle prices followed suit, edging up $2-$3/cwt on average, with lighter-weight cattle up as much as $5/cwt[...]
Regina to host new pulse, durum processing plant
An expansion-minded inertnational pulse packing and export firm has pledged up to $50 million for a new Saskatchewan plant to process pulse crops for flours and food ingredients and durum into semolina for pasta. Alliance Grain Traders (AGT) on Friday announced construction work on the plant is to begin in 2012 in the Global Transportation[...]
Boston Pizza drafts smaller stores for smaller markets
One of Canada's biggest casual restaurant brands is warming up expansion plans for smaller cities and rural communities with the launch of a smaller-store prototype. Boston Pizza International's new smaller-scale store design, at about 4,100 square feet, is expected to make it "more affordable than ever to own a Boston Pizza franchise," the company said[...]
Sask. won’t ban canola from fields with clubroot
Saskatchewan will not force its first two farms infested with clubroot disease to stop growing canola for a number of years, as some Alberta municipalities have done, a provincial official said Wednesday. Two farmers in north-central Saskatchewan found symptoms of clubroot, which cuts crop yields, on their plants this autumn. The government in Saskatchewan, Canada's[...]
Suspension of Moroccan durum tariff may boost sales
Morocco is temporarily suspending import duties on durum, which could open the door for more export opportunities for Canada, a major supplier. Morocco’s ministry of economy and finance recently announced on its website that all duties on durum imports will be suspended from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 this year. Duties on soft wheat will […] Read more
Ont. Liberals win minority, lose ag minister
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty’s agriculture minister was one of the casualties in Thursday night’s election that saw his Liberal government pared back just short of majority status. Carol Mitchell, who until Thursday was the MPP for the southwestern agricultural riding of Huron-Bruce and was named to the agriculture portfolio in January last year, lost the […] Read more
Cold, snowy winter forecast seen for Prairies
Harvest operations are wrapping up across Western Canada under reasonably good weather conditions for the most part. While the bias should remain on the warm side through the autumn, the Prairies can expect to see a cold, snowy winter, according to one meteorologist. The early indications “suggest we’ll see another winter of colder-than-usual conditions in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
