General

The tax-exempt fuel used in farm vehicles across Western Canada isn’t welcome in Montana — and possibly other jurisdictions as well. Montana state officials recently contacted Alberta Agriculture and Food’s program policy division, in charge of the Alberta Farm Fuel Benefit, asking it to advise farmers only to use clear, taxed fuel when driving in […] Read more

The federal health and agriculture departments want feedback from Canadians on how the government should carry out its proposed food and consumer safety action plan. The plan, which Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Dec. 17, has been laid out in a new overview booklet and discussion document. The two departments have also set up a […] Read more

Brigid Rivoire has returned to the executive director’s desk at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture after over a year away. Rivoire, who had moved in October 2006 to a new post as executive director of the Canadian Child Care Federation in Ottawa after five and a half years with the CFA, returns to replace Justin […] Read more

An ongoing review of on-the-job safety for rural mail carriers is not a disguised attempt to cut rural mail service, Canada Post said Thursday. The federal mail carrier issued a statement “to firmly dispel any misconceptions that might have arisen, from recent media reports or other sources, about the future of rural mail delivery.” Its […] Read more

Sales of “non-core assets” helped boost the year-end bottom line for Winnipeg farm equipment maker Buhler Industries, which on Tuesday reported higher net profit on lower sales for 2007. The company, which sold itself in 2007 to Russia’s Combine Factory Rostselmash, posted $8.01 million in net profit on $166.2 million in revenues, up from $4.58 […] Read more

A new working paper on export competition, domestic support and market access by World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture chair Crawford Falconer shows progress on access for Canada’s farmers, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said Thursday. The paper, seen as outlining Falconer’s view of the direction for WTO agriculture negotiations, recommends the “complete elimination” of in-quota […] Read more

Ginty Jocius, creator of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and a renowned pioneer in Canada’s agriculture communications sector, died Wednesday in Guelph of complications from brain cancer. Jocius, 61, founded his self-named marketing and communications company in Guelph in 1982, specializing in agricultural products and services and including a roster of well-known clients across the continent. […] Read more

Western Canada’s agricultural councils, the support agencies for several programs promoting innovation in agriculture, will jointly back an education and awareness program to promote value chains. The four councils and their provinces’ governments will back the Western Canadian Value Chain Initiative, bringing an interprovincial focus to a series of workshops to be held this spring […] Read more