Haying progress improves, crops seen in good condition

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending July 25

Good progress was made with haying this past week. Livestock producers have 50 per cent of the hay crop baled or put into silage and another 20 per cent cut and ready for baling, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. The five-year average (2011-2015) is 55 per cent baled or put into silage. Hay […] Read more






European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker — shown here at right with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November — has taken the EU’s free trade pact with Canada off the fast track by allowing each EU member nation’s parliament to ratify the deal. (PM.gc.ca)

EU bows to pressure, gives member parliaments say in Canada trade deal

Brussels | Reuters –– The European Commission bowed to pressure to give Europe’s parliaments the right to ratify a landmark free-trade deal with Canada, a decision meant to address public concerns but which could wreck Europe’s broader trade strategy. In the face of popular suspicion about secretive trade deals benefiting big companies, Commission President Jean-Claude […] Read more


Nobel Prizes, funded through the last will of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel, have been issued since 1901 to honour outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature, and for work in peace. (Pi Frisk photo copyright Nobel Media AB, 2015)

Nobel laureates urge Greenpeace to stop opposing GMOs

Washington | Reuters — More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society. At a news conference, the scientists cited in particular the value of a genetically modified rice […] Read more

Topsoil moisture conditions mostly good, warmth spurs excellent crop growth

Saskatchewan Crop Report for the week ending June 13

Seeding in Saskatchewan is expected to be completed this week, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s weekly Crop Report. While there are few fields of oats and flax, as well as some greenfeed and silage, being seeded at this time, 99.5 per cent of the crop is in the ground. The five-year (2011-2015) average for this time […] Read more


Campbell, which recently rolled out several Star Wars-themed products such as these Darth Vader-shaped SpaghettiOs, plans to label all its U.S. products for presence of GMO ingredients. (Campbells.com)

MP calls for mandatory GMO labels, echoes Vermont regulations

CNS Canada — A Quebec MP has tabled a new bill calling for mandatory labelling of genetically modified (GM) foods, following steps taken by lawmakers south of the border. Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the New Democrat MP for Sherbrooke, introduced Bill C-291 Tuesday morning, calling for the mandatory labelling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in Canada. Dusseault […] Read more

Winnipeg has long been a centre of the Prairie grain trade, having hosted the headquarters of past and present grain handlers and traders and the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (now ICE Futures Canada). (Canadian Wheat Board photo)

China’s COFCO Agri hiring grain traders, opening Winnipeg office

Winnipeg | Reuters –– Chinese state-owned agricultural trader COFCO Agri is opening a trading office in the Canadian grain hub of Winnipeg, adding to the aggressive expansion of its North American agriculture business. COFCO Agri is hiring three grain traders and an operations manager to expand export and domestic trading, according to the company’s postings […] Read more