The technical institute for Canadian field crops will get its core funding from now on through the Prairies’ major grain export firms and its three provincial wheat grower commissions. Cigi, the Canadian International Grains Institute, on Tuesday announced the new funding model, plus a new governance model setting up a new 10-member board of directors […] Read more
Prairie wheat commissions, grain firms to fund Cigi
Equine anemia turns up in some Manitoba horses
A viral horse disease that’s more prevalent further west in Canada has returned to Manitoba for the first time in recent memory, as horses from two municipalities have been found to caught the virus in the past four weeks. Equine infectious anemia (EIA) was confirmed in horses from a property in the RM of St. […] Read more
Federal response tightened for chronic wasting disease
Canadian ranchers raising cervids such as elk, deer and moose will soon have to get in on certification programs before they can be eligible for any federal help in the event of a chronic wasting disease (CWD) outbreak. One of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) family of nervous system diseases, such as BSE in cattle […] Read more
Dow, DuPont to shed Canadian assets for merger approval
Competition for the Prairie farmer’s crop protection dollar will survive following the planned merger of chemical giants Dow and DuPont, by way of a handful of asset sales, Canada’s Competition Bureau has ruled. The federal antitrust watchdog on Tuesday announced it has an agreement with DuPont and Dow Chemical to head off what would otherwise […] Read more
Former Alberta agriculture minister LeRoy Fjordbotten, 78
Memorial services will be held Sunday in Claresholm, Alta. for LeRoy Fjordbotten, the farmer and consultant who served as Alberta’s agriculture minister from 1982 to 1986. Fjordbotten, who died June 8, farmed northeast of Granum, about 60 km northwest of Lethbridge, and was a member of Flying Farmers of Alberta before running for the Progressive […] Read more
Ontario redrafts vegetable grower organization governance
Ontario’s Farm Products Marketing Commission (OFPMC) is proposing a new governance structure for the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, which has been without a board of directors since March. The commission last week released proposed amendments to provincial Regulations 441 and 400, which would set up an eight-member OPVG board with an OFPMC-appointed chair. The amendments […] Read more
Tim Hortons parent updates antibiotic policy for chicken
The parent company for the Tim Hortons and Burger King chains has tightened up its pledge to curb the use of antibiotics by its chicken suppliers. Restaurant Brands International on Thursday released its first “Sustainability Report,” outlining its work during 2016 in support of “sustainable practices that promote positive change.” Back in late December, Oakville, […] Read more
PotashCorp, Agrium choose new married name
Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and PotashCorp have picked the new brand under which they plan to do business once their proposed merger clears. Calgary-based Agrium and Saskatoon-based PotashCorp announced Wednesday their new merged company, pending regulatory review and approvals, will be named Nutrien. “The new organization will be the global leader in reliable, low-cost crop […] Read more
No charges against Quebec’s ex-ag minister
Quebec’s director of prosecutions has decided not to pursue criminal charges against the province’s fired agriculture minister over allegations of “acts of a sexual character.” The province’s director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP) announced in a release Monday that the office was “not reasonably convinced” culpability could be proven against the provincial member for […] Read more
Agrium buys polymer maker’s ag chem applications
Fertilizer and ag retail firm Agrium has closed a deal for an Australian polymer maker’s ag chemical business, aiming to put it to work in fertilizer and pesticide application. Calgary-based Agrium said Tuesday it has bought Starpharma Holdings’ agrochemical business for A$35 million (C$35.3 million) via Agrium’s U.S. crop input arm, Loveland Products. The deal […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
