Ontario’s biggest ag commodity organization is on the hunt for a new CEO as its first chief prepares to exit. Barry Senft announced Tuesday he will step down as CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario in April 2020, a post he’s held since the 2009 merger of the province’s corn, soy and wheat grower groups […] Read more
Grain Farmers of Ontario seeking new CEO
Ag minister returned, ag critic downed in Manitoba vote
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives easily kept their agriculture minister while hanging onto a marginally slimmer majority government in Tuesday’s provincial election. Ralph Eichler, the Tories’ ag minister since 2016 and the MLA for the Interlake-area constituency of Lakeside since 2003, defeated New Democrat challenger Dan Rugg of Elie on Tuesday night by a spread of 4,340 […] Read more
Clubroot able to beat resistant canola reaches Manitoba
A strain of clubroot able to club the roots of some resistant canola varieties has made its way east to Manitoba. Manitoba’s agriculture department reported Friday that clubroot pathotype 3A — a strain that can “overcome some first-generation sources of genetic resistance” in commercial canola — has been positively identified in the south-central rural municipality […] Read more
FCC to offer flexibility in hurricane-battered areas
Farm Credit Canada says it plans to help its farmer clients in Atlantic Canada work around financial pressures following Hurricane Dorian’s passage through the region over the weekend. “We won’t know the full extent of damage for some time, but we’ve already heard that some customers will likely be facing some financial hardship as a […] Read more
McCain to dial up fry production in New Brunswick
The company behind about a quarter of the world’s frozen French fries plans to ramp up demand from New Brunswick potato growers with a line capacity upgrade at its recently expanded plant there. McCain Foods announced Aug. 27 it will put up another $12 million to add capacity to its Florenceville, N.B. plant’s French fry […] Read more
Ag sector growth will take investments in skills, tech now: RBC
One of Canada’s big six banks bets the agriculture sector’s gross domestic product could rise by nearly 60 per cent over the next decade if it were to have enough people, capital and access to new technology where ag lives. A report released by RBC on Tuesday titled “Farmer 4.0” estimates Canadian ag GDP could […] Read more
Richardson to replace northernmost grain elevator
Grain handler Richardson Pioneer plans to replace the northernmost grain elevator in its Prairie network by next fall. The arm of Winnipeg’s Richardson International said Monday it has started construction on a new elevator at High Level in northwestern Alberta, about 200 km south of the province’s border with the Northwest Territories. The new facility, […] Read more
Manitoba Tories pledge to pump up biofuel content
Manitoba’s incumbent Progressive Conservatives have pledged to boost provincial mandates for biofuel content in gasoline and diesel two weeks ahead of a provincial election. The Tories, whom recent polls favour for re-election on Sept. 10, included the pledge Tuesday in a campaign announcement specifically aimed at the province’s farmers. The party noted its biofuel promise […] Read more
Grower of Zing peppers under new ownership
A major greenhouse vegetable grower in southernmost southern Ontario is expanding its reach in the region. Mucci Farms, based at Kingsville, just west of Leamington, announced Wednesday it has bought a controlling stake in Leamington-based Orangeline Farms, the grower of Zing Healthy Foods greenhouse peppers. Financial details weren’t disclosed in Mucci’s release Wednesday, but CBC […] Read more
Future payouts from dairy fund still up for discussion
What happens to the rest of Canada’s eight-year, $1.75 billion funding envelope to compensate its dairy farmers for other countries’ gains in market access is still up for discussion, according to the federal ag minister. In a statement Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Ottawa gets that Canadian dairy farmers want more direct payments beyond […] Read more
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