Cargill has started construction work to more than double the storage at its newly-acquired grain handling facility at Camrose in central Alberta. The Camrose East elevator is a former Agricore United facility sold to Cargill this summer as part of a deal with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to satisfy antitrust watchdogs before SaskPool and AU merged […] Read more
Cargill to expand at Camrose
Agrium to buy UAP
Calgary’s Agrium, one of the world’s top fertilizer production companies, has reached a US$2.65 billion all-cash deal to buy UAP, the biggest independent ag input distributor in Canada and the U.S. The deal, worth US$39 per share of UAP Holdings, is already approved by both companies’ boards of directors, Agrium said in a release Monday. […] Read more
Farmed fuels bill and incentives finalized
The federal government on Monday announced the bill that will give it the power to regulate renewable fuel content in Canadian gasoline and diesel, as well as details on a previously announced incentive program for production of homegrown biofuels. The biofuels bill will make the changes to ensure Ottawa meets its goal of average content […] Read more
Organic umbrella group funded
The federal government will put $565,900 toward development of a national sector organization, the Organic Federation of Canada, to bring together all players in Canada’s organic industry, raise awareness of the sector and help with regulatory development. OFC president Stephanie Wells said in a government release that the funding, announced Monday, will go toward the […] Read more
N.B. farm register to fund farm groups
New Brunswick’s provincial government has set up a voluntary Register of Farm Businesses, from which fees will be used to fund the operations of the province’s general farm organizations. Under the system launched Friday, farmers who opt to register would pay annual fees of between $150 and $500, based on gross annual income, to a […] Read more
Irrigation thirstiest for Alta. water supply: report
While Alberta’s oil industry is expected to post the biggest increase in demand for that province’s water between now and 2010, irrigation is expected to account for the biggest increase in the five following years, according to a new provincial government report. The environment department’s report on current and future water use in Alberta, released […] Read more
Chem companies’ court battle at dead end
A 10-year legal fight between Saskatoon inoculant maker Philom Bios and chemical firm Dow AgroSciences Canada has ended at the Supreme Court of Canada’s doorstep. Philom Bios reported Friday that the country’s top court has dismissed Dow Agro’s application for leave to appeal an April 2007 ruling by an Alberta appeals court, in a dispute […] Read more
Ecological goods and services pilot funded in N.S.
The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture will use over half a million dollars in new federal funding to put dollar values on farmers’ environmental management activities in an Ecological Goods and Services (EG&S) pilot project. Guy Lauzon, the federal parliamentary secretary for agriculture, announced the funding at the federation’s annual meeting Friday in Truro. The […] Read more
Ont. soybean growers pull out of merger
Ontario Soybean Growers has called off its engagement to the province’s wheat and corn growers’ groups. OSG announced Thursday that its board had voted to withdraw from the current memorandum of understanding (MOU) process that was to lead up to the forming of one organization with the Ontario Corn Producers’ Association and Ontario Wheat Producers’ […] Read more
Half of Man. farmland committed to EFPs
Almost half of Manitoba’s agricultural land is now covered by farmers’ Environmental Farm Plans (EFPs), the federal and provincial governments reported Friday. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and provincial Ag Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced that over 5,000 farmers had completed EFPs, representing eight million acres or almost 50 per cent of all Manitoba agricultural land. […] Read more
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