Former 4-H Canada president Rob Black will be stepping down from his role as CEO of the Rural Ontario Institute to take his place in the Senate. (Photo courtesy ROI)

Rural Ontario leader appointed to Senate

A leader in Ontario’s agriculture and rural community is one of Canada’s newest senators. Rob Black, executive director of the Rural Ontario Institute and a former president of 4-H Canada, was named Thursday as one of two new senators from Ontario by Governor General Julie Payette. Why is this significant? It has been a long […] Read more

University of Guelph president Dr. Franco Vaccarino (right) and Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal sign a new research partnership agreement, with Guelph-area MPP Liz Sandals. (John Greig photo)

Ontario, U of Guelph renew ag research partnership

Up to $713 million in agriculture research will be funded at the University of Guelph over the next 10 years through a renewal of the university’s agreement with the provincial ag ministry. The new agreement has been updated to manage digital data and is aimed to provide a base from which to leverage more research […] Read more


(OntLA.on.ca)

Ontario, Canada sign $1.5 billion CAP agreement

The Canadian and Ontario governments have signed an agreement that will see $1.5 billion of Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) money available to be spent in the province. Ontario Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal said the five-year program will start April 3, which, he added, will mean a seamless transition between the current federal-provincial agriculture and food […] Read more

(Bayer.com)

Bayer petitions Russian antitrust watchdog for more time in Monsanto case

Frankfurt/Moscow | Reuters — Bayer has taken Russia’s competition regulator to court over the watchdog’s investigation into the company’s planned takeover of Monsanto, a further hiccup in the US$64 billion deal amid intense antitrust scrutiny. A Bayer spokesman said the German company was petitioning the court in Russia to be given more time to discuss […] Read more


(FarmersEdge.ca)

Farmers Edge to use data to edge into insurance sector

Farmers Edge has signed a four-year agreement with global reinsurance company PartnerRe to bring precision farming technology together with ag insurance. Under the agreement announced this week, the two companies plan to work together to develop new insurance products for the agricultural market. While Canadian farmers have access to government-run, subsidized crop insurance programs, as […] Read more

(AgricultureMoreThanEver.ca)

Farmers encouraged to make Agriculture Day meme-able

Canada’s farmers are being urged to make closer connections with the country’s non-farming consumers, in both the real world and cyberspace, as Canada’s Agriculture Day nears. Spearheaded by the year-round industry-backed initiative Agriculture More Than Ever, Canada’s Agriculture Day is set this year for Tuesday (Feb. 13). “It’s a time to showcase all of the […] Read more





Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Jan. 31. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Nina seen likely to fade by spring

Reuters — The current La Nina weather cycle is likely to transition into more neutral conditions by spring, a U.S. government weather forecaster said Thursday. La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and is linked with floods and droughts. It is the opposite phase of what is known […] Read more

A vineyard in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. (British Columbia Wine Institute photo)

Trudeau under pressure to cork provinces’ wine, oil row

Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faced pressure on Wednesday from an important political ally and the business community to settle an oil pipeline dispute that has sparked fears of a trade war between two neighbouring provinces. Alberta and British Columbia are scrapping over Kinder Morgan Canada’s planned $7.4 billion Trans Mountain pipeline […] Read more