Bob Bjornerud, a founding member of the Saskatchewan Party and most recently its critic for agriculture, was sworn into office Wednesday as the province’s new agriculture minister. Brad Wall was sworn in Wednesday evening as Saskatchewan’s 14th premier and introduced his cabinet, which includes 18 of the party’s 38 MLAs. Wall’s team reduced Lorne Calvert’s […] Read more
Sask. ag critic now ag minister
Stettler plans farm waste power plant
The Alberta government will grant over $137,000 for an $8 million electricity-from-biomass project in the county of Stettler. Prairie Biogas Ltd. and the county government will use the province’s funds to help develop a plant that can process 25 tonnes of mostly farm biomass but also municipal waste, producing a “clean” synthetic gas that can […] Read more
Man. to regulate foreign worker recruitment
Manitoba’s provincial government will consult on plans to regulate agencies that recruit temporary workers from other countries. Labour Minister Nancy Allan announced plans Wednesday to consult with stakeholders on proposed changes to the provincial Employment Services Act. One of the proposals would require that all third-party recruiters of foreign workers be licensed by the province. […] Read more
Nufarm offers Assert/Frontline combo
Nufarm Canada expects to save farmers time and money by offering its Assert wild oat herbicide boxed together with Dow AgroSciences’ broadleaf product Frontline, to be sold as Assert FL. Calgary-based Nufarm, which bought the Group 2 brand Assert from BASF in 2005, said it found a “high percentage” of Assert-treated acres were being tank-mixed […] Read more
NFU wants ombudsman to probe OMAFRA
The National Farmers Union (NFU) wants Ontario provincial ombudsman Andre Marin to investigate the conduct and goals of the provincial ministry of agriculture, food and rural affairs. The Saskatoon-based farmers’ group submitted a report to Marin’s office Wednesday, detailing what the NFU calls “numerous instances where OMAFRA is failing to protect the long-term interests of […] Read more
Ethanol supports harm broader ag sector: report
A country such as Canada that’s strategically positioned as a meat exporter should re-think its devotion to ethanol, the George Morris Centre warns in a new report. The Guelph-based agri-food industry think tank on Tuesday released a review of federal and provincial supports for grain-based ethanol, in the context of broader Canadian public policy. The […] Read more
Potatoes turned back from Algeria: CBC
A boat loaded with potatoes from Quebec and Prince Edward Island has been forced to leave Algeria after trying to unload its cargo for the past few weeks, CBC reported Monday. The cargo, 3,800 tonnes of potatoes loaded at Summerside, P.E.I., belongs to an export firm called Canadian Agricultural Produce of Brossard, Que., near Montreal, […] Read more
Ottawa funds Ont. farmers’ promotional campaign
An awareness campaign to highlight “positive contributions” by Ontario’s farmers and farm families will run for the next 18 months with $1.3 million in federal government funding. The Presidents’ Council, an umbrella group of 27 farm and commodity groups in the province, will put the money toward a campaign of TV ads as well as […] Read more
Disease shuts U.S. border to Alta. potatoes: AFE
The U.S. border has been closed to seed potatoes from Alberta after the plant pest golden nematode was found on two seed potato fields, Alberta Farmer Express reports. Staff with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Potato Growers of Alberta confirmed in interviews with the Alberta farm paper’s editor Janet Kanters that CFIA and the […] Read more
OTM rule in effect
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s long-awaited “Rule 2,” allowing imports of Canadian cattle born after March 1, 1999, took effect Monday with no reported incident. “This government and our industry partners have worked closely with the American industry and with the USDA to achieve this goal,” said federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in a release […] Read more
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