Facing depressed world prices for milk, Canada’s dairy farmers can expect a boost of about 2.76 per cent in their overall revenue from industrial milk sales starting Sept. 1. The Canadian Dairy Commission on Friday announced an unusual second increase this year in the support prices it sets for butter ($8.0062 per kilogram, up from […] Read more
Dairy support price gets second bump of year
FBC editorial chief wins major international awards
Laura Rance, editorial director of Farm Business Communications and editor of the Manitoba Co-operator, has won two major international awards for her work on African agriculture. Rance won the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Star Prize for ‘Africa’s Hunger Games,’ published in the Winnipeg Free Press in April 2015. The same piece was awarded […] Read more
Saskatchewan orders drainage into Quill Lakes stopped
Saskatchewan property owners draining land into the overflowing Quill Lakes in the east-central part of the province without prior approvals are being ordered to close those drains. The provincial government’s Water Security Agency (WSA) on Thursday said it would invoke new drainage regulations passed last fall and require all unapproved drainage works flowing into the […] Read more
Organic seed growers split with OTA over U.S. label plan
A U.S. organic seed grower organization best known for its court case against Monsanto has parted ways with one of North America’s biggest organic sector bodies over a proposed nationwide GMO label law in the U.S. The Maine-based growers’ group, the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), announced Thursday its board has voted to […] Read more
Ukraine free trade deal signed, goes to vote
A free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine that’s expected to benefit Canada’s livestock sectors, among others, goes to the two countries’ parliaments for approval after its signing Monday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) Monday in Kyiv. CUFTA negotiations wrapped last July under the […] Read more
Last avian flu-related block on U.S. poultry lifted
The last of Canada’s temporary avian flu-related rules against cross-border travellers bringing in poultry and/or eggs from the U.S. has been lifted. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, live birds, raw poultry, eggs and certain other raw or less-than-cooked poultry products originating in Indiana may again be brought into Canada. Lifted effective June 27, […] Read more
Bird flu control zone set up around Ontario duck farm
About 14,000 commercial ducks at a farm west of St. Catharines, Ont. are being euthanized following confirmation of a low-pathogenic strain of H5N2 avian flu in the flock. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Friday confirmed the influenza subtype, the day after announcing the low-path H5 flu outbreak, the resulting quarantine and the plans for […] Read more
Crops looking good, but fusarium risk is high
Weather conditions see many Saskatchewan farmers spraying fungicides
As crops in north-western Saskatchewan edge closer to maturity, Ian Weber is knocking on wood. “I’m at the point I don’t want to see bugs and hail would be really bad. Because I think we’ve got a monster coming in. Things look good,” said Weber, sales manager with Warrington AgroDynamic of Mervin. The Mervin-Turtleford area […] Read more
Taiwan again accepting Canadian UTM beef
One of the top international importers of Canadian beef is back in the market after closing its ports to the product last year. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday announced Taiwan will again accept beef from Canadian cattle under 30 months of age (UTMs), effective immediately. Taiwan had pulled the […] Read more
Ontario duck farm catches low-path avian flu
All the birds on a commercial duck farm in southern Ontario’s Niagara region are about to be euthanized after some were confirmed with a less severe form of avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Thursday said the strain of avian influenza found in the birds on the farm is a low-pathogenic (“low-path”) […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
