Having wrapped up discussions on mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) in Washington, D.C., Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Canada will consider retaliatory measures of up to $1 billion per year if the U.S. doesn’t comply with World Trade Organization requirements. Speaking Tuesday on a conference call with reporters, Ritz said he and U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more
Ritz sees up to $1B per year in COOL retaliation
B.C. greenhouse growers get permanent carbon tax break
British Columbia’s greenhouse growers will now get a permanent exemption from the bulk of the province’s carbon tax on their natural gas and propane use — with a similar break expected to follow for farm fuels. Telegraphed in the provincial budget in February, the new exemption announced Tuesday will come in the form of grants […] Read more
New crop pesticide chemistry expands its reach
A relatively new insecticide chemistry group has yielded its first product able to be used against a “cross-spectrum” of chewing and sucking insects — and will be aimed against Colorado potato beetles, among others. DuPont Crop Protection announced Tuesday it has picked up registration from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency for the active ingredient […] Read more
Chicago live cattle tumble on technical sales, feeders fall
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle and feeder cattle futures fell on Tuesday on profit-taking after recent gains that were prompted by a steep drop in corn futures the past few days, traders said. Traders said much of the activity in the cattle futures market was technical and said volatility should have been expected because […] Read more
Lower feed costs fuel Chicago feeder cattle
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) feeder cattle closed up 2.125 cents per pound or 1.5 per cent higher on Monday, notching a one-month high triggered by plunging corn futures prices following a bearish government corn stocks report, traders said. "It's all because of corn... corn is down 70 to 80 cents from where it was a[...]
N.S., N.L. plan fee hikes for farmers
An assortment of service fees the Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador governments charge to farmers are increasing. The Nova Scotia government on Thursday announced hikes of 5.8 per cent to many of its 1,400 fees across all government departments effective Monday (April 1), while the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s increases for farmers, announced Tuesday, […] Read more
U.S. corn takes biggest two-day fall since 1996
Chicago corn tumbled to its biggest two-day drop since mid-1996, touching the lowest price in nine months, as larger-than-expected U.S. stockpiles weighed down the market. Pressured by corn, Chicago wheat also registered its lowest nearby price in nine months, and soybeans touched a nearly three-month low. Chicago Board of Trade May corn fell 53 cents […] Read more
Sask. sweetens terms for community pasture operation
The Saskatchewan government plans to offer an improved deal to rancher groups to take over operations of community pastures being offloaded from the federal government. The province — which received the former Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) pastures after the federal government announced in April 2012 it would remove itself from the community pasture business […] Read more
Biosecurity standards launched for sheep, goat farms
Voluntary made-in-Canada standards, compiling best-management practices needed for farm-level biosecurity, have been rolled out for use on Canadian sheep and goat operations, with the stated aim of sharpening a competitive edge. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday and Thursday launched the new national standards for goat and sheep farms respectively, laying out specific practices […] Read more
Ont. egg farmers back egg-based antidepressant
Ontario's egg farmers have pledged $1 million in research and development funding to United Paragon Associates (UPA) to fund clinical trials of a new antidepressant drug derived from eggs. Egg Farmers of Ontario, which represents about 440 egg producers and pullet growers in the province, "believes there are enormous potential benefits of this research into[...]
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