The Saskatchewan government and the Mosaic Company have sealed their $1.6 billion deal to sell Regina-based nitrogen maker Saskferco to a major chemical firm from Norway. Yara International on Wednesday officially assumed control of Saskferco, whose holdings include a fertilizer plant at Belle Plaine, about 30 km east of Moose Jaw, and a warehouse at […] Read more
Saskferco now “Yara Belle Plaine”
Editors’ Picks: Fertilizer mix cuts explosion risk
A New Jersey firm says it’s discovered a mix that makes it “extremely difficult” to weaponize ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Honeywell Resins and Chemicals, which bills itself as one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of ammonium sulfate fertilizer, said Sept. 23 it’s picked up what’s called “SAFETY Act” designation for its new, patented product from the […] Read more
Canada’s farms still largely Tory blue: poll
A new poll by Ipsos Forward Research before the Oct. 14 election puts Canadian farmers’ support for the federal Conservatives at 59 per cent overall, well ahead of the pack but still down six points from 2006. The poll, conducted online from Aug. 22 to Sept. 6 with 856 members of “Producers’ Perspectives: The Ipsos […] Read more
Man. to fund on-farm GHG reduction research
Manitoba’s government has pledged over $1 million for research to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the province’s farming sector. The first funding block of $150,000 from that pledge was earmarked Wednesday for five projects at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment, a University of Manitoba research centre south of Winnipeg. The new research […] Read more
Viterra launches new juncea canola
Farmers in drier areas of the Prairies “not typically suited to canola production” can expect to benefit from a new juncea canola available through grain company Viterra. Available in “limited quantities” for the 2009 season, Xceed juncea canola was bred by Viterra to meet the need for growers to diversify their rotation and still produce […] Read more
Que. backs farm work to clear lake’s algae
The Quebec government plans to put up $600,000 over three years to fund improvements on farms in the Lake Temiscouata watershed, in hopes of helping to clear the lake’s blue-green algae problem. The lake, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region near the province’s borders with Maine and New Brunswick, has about 100 farms on its watershed that […] Read more
B.C. farm tax panel co-chair replaced, again
British Columbia’s panel to review what constitutes a “farm” for municipal tax purposes must again replace its co-chair at about a third of the way through its assignment. Okanagan-Westside MLA Rick Thorpe, who was named co-chair in July, has stepped down from the provincial Farm Assessment Review Panel due to personal health reasons, the province […] Read more
Bloc eyes income stability in ag platform
Tax breaks, boosts to ag income stabilization and, as expected, a defense of supply management are among the planks in the Bloc Quebecois’ agricultural platform for the Oct. 14 federal election. Joined by six other Bloc candidates, party leader Gilles Duceppe and the BQ caucus’ ag critic, Andre Bellavance, outlined the party’s ag platform Friday […] Read more
CPR’s U.S. Midwest play gets approval
The U.S. Surface Transportation Board has granted Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) regulatory approval to buy control of the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Corp. Calgary-based CPR, which announced the ruling in a release Tuesday, noted that the board “denied all requests for conditions other than those agreed to voluntarily by (CPR)” and that the board’s […] Read more
Rain hinders Man. harvest, Sask. chugs ahead
Saskatchewan farmers have again steamed ahead of their five-year average pace for harvesting, while harvests in central and eastern Manitoba ground — or more accurately, squished — to a halt. Widespread rains stopped harvest for much of last week in Manitoba’s south-central and southeastern regions and in its already waterlogged Interlake region between Lake Manitoba […] Read more
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