With its Saskatchewan potash mine project about 70 per cent dug, major Australian mining firm BHP Billiton now says it won’t be seeking board approval to bring the mine into production in 2018. The company had said in May it expected its mine at Jansen, Sask., about 70 km southeast of Humboldt, to start producing […] Read more
BHP Billiton puts off decision on Prairie potash mine
‘Natural’ food firm to buy cold-pressed juice maker
The owner of Life Choices Natural Foods and Rolling Meadow Dairy is set to expand its share of the Canadian juice market with a deal for the Toronto maker of Cedar organic and cold-pressed juices. GreenSpace Brands announced Thursday it has signed a cash-and-stock deal by buy the Cold Press Corp. for between $5.385 million […] Read more
Online livestock supply store expands reach west
An Ontario livestock nutrition firm’s venture into online retail for producers is expanding into the Prairie provinces with four pickup and ordering points in the region. Cambridge, Ont.-based GVF Group announced Thursday its Farmers Farmacy business, previously available only to producers in Ontario, the Maritime provinces and Quebec, now also serves Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. […] Read more
New crop of Nuffield scholars named
Canada’s agriculture sector has yielded four new scholars to join the international Nuffield community and receive funding for research in their fields of interest. Nuffield Canada, the Canadian arm of the international Nuffield organization since 1986, has named Ellen Crane, Josh Oulton, Gavin Robertson and Shelley Spruitt as its Nuffield scholars for 2018. The new […] Read more
Options weighed for AgriRecovery in B.C. fire zones
Officials in British Columbia are now gauging what sorts of damages and expenses can be covered through an AgriRecovery plan for ranchers and farmers affected by wildfires. The federal and B.C. governments announced Wednesday they’re “working together to quickly assess the extraordinary costs farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover […] Read more
Drought-related livestock tax deferral zones widen again
More ranchers in five provinces may now be able to defer some of their taxable income from their livestock sales in 2016 due to drought. The federal government on Aug. 4 announced its final list of drought-designated regions where the livestock tax deferral provision will be allowed for the 2016 tax year, and has included […] Read more
DuPont to buy up farm software firm Granular
A San Francisco company providing farm management software to growers in four provinces and about three dozen states is poised to join the digital arm of DuPont and Dow’s merged agribusiness. DuPont — which as of last week had all regulatory approvals and clearances lined up to complete its merger with Dow Chemical — announced […] Read more
Newfoundland seeks beef cattle breeder
The Newfoundland and Labrador government’s plan to build up cattle breeding within the province is advancing a step as the province seeks a farmer to mind a small Hereford herd. The province on Tuesday put out a call for proposals from farmers to take on a five-year contract handling a herd of five breeding cows […] Read more
CN conductors ratify labour deal
An 11th-hour labour deal that averted a strike in late May by conductors and yard crews for Canadian National Railway has been ratified. Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference’s Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons union (TCRC-CTY) have voted in favour of a three-year agreement retroactive to July 23, 2016, CN said Tuesday. The deal “provides […] Read more
It’s time for Canadians to dig up their undies
It’s time for Canadians to grab their shovels, head into their gardens, flowerbeds or fields and reveal their underwear. Part 2 of the Soil Conservation Council of Canada’s (SCCC) experiment to help gauge the health of soils has come to an end, and if you buried a pair of cotton briefs, now is the time to retrieve them. “The Council was […] Read more
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