Ukraine assistance program extended

A Canadian program to assist Ukrainian farmers in the transition to a more modern economy has been extended for two years. The Canada-Ukraine Facility for Agriculture Reform and Modernization (FARM) Program is managed by Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP) with partnerships with the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Provincial Governments and the Canadian International Development Agency […] Read more

Viterra announces support for Iowa cleanup efforts

Grain handler Viterra and its subsidiary Can-Oat Milling are contributing $30,000 towards flood cleanup efforts in Iowa following devastating floods in the state earlier this month. Both companies have a number of key business partnerships in the region. The funds will be allocated to recovery initiatives in the city of Cedar Rapids and surrounding areas. […] Read more


WTO trade talks extended briefly

The Doha Round of world trade talks has been granted a brief reprieve until midweek, in an effort to save the negotiations from collapse. Some European countries have expressed concerns over proposed concessions they believe will harm their farmers. About 30 trade ministers are trying to wrap up a deal aimed at boosting the world […] Read more

Manitoba sees first west nile mosquito

The Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health reports that Manitoba’s mosquito surveillance program has identified the first Culex tarsalis mosquito samples infected with West Nile virus in Manitoba in 2008. Samples of Culex tarsalis from adult mosquito traps in the towns of Deloraine and Boissevain in the Assiniboine Regional Health Authority tested positive […] Read more


Margins shrink less on larger farms: StatsCan

Canada’s largest farms, those with annual revenues of $500,000 or more, are becoming a major economic force in the country. Large farms are growing in numbers, the people who run them invest more in their businesses, and more large farms are profitable than smaller ones. While smaller farms dominate in numbers, large farms dominate both […] Read more

Drozd: $147 crude no surprise, but now what?

A “bull flag” formation appeared on the monthly crude oil chart in early March 2008, which accurately predicted the ensuing price advance to $147 per barrel. Flags are consolidation patterns within the existing price trend. In an uptrend, the formation truly resembles a flag. It stands atop a “flagpole” and slants downward in the shape […] Read more


Crop prices up 40 per cent in May: StatsCan

Prices farmers received for their commodities rose 14.1 per cent in May 2008 from the same month a year earlier, as significant gains in crop prices offset declines in livestock prices. Prices that producers received for crops were up 40.2 per cent in May compared with May 2007, continuing double-digit increases which began in November 2006. Farmers received higher prices for […] Read more

Nominations open for national ag awards

Nominations are now open until Sept. 15 for the 2008 Canadian Agri-Food Awards of Excellence, meant to honour “innovative thinkers and entrepreneurs that are moving Canadian agriculture forward everyday,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Friday. The awards are presented each year in


New loans up at Farm Credit

Farm Credit Canada has posted another increase in the number and total dollar amount of new loans to farmers in its 2007-08 fiscal year. In its annual report, released Thursday, the federal ag lending agency listed $4.28 billion in new loans for the year ending March 31, up from $3.71 billion in 2006-07. That’s spread […] Read more

“Product of Canada” rules kick in Dec. 31

New guidelines for food manufacturers who use the terms “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” will apply to foods produced after Dec. 31 this year, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Tuesday. “By the end of the year, if a food is labelled ‘Product of Canada,’ this government is making sure that food is Canadian […] Read more