File photo of the Harmony Beef plant at Balzac, Alta. in 2015. (Canadian Cattlemen photo by Debbie Furber)

Alberta’s Harmony Beef halts slaughter on positive COVID-19 test

CFIA pulls inspectors after plant employee tests positive

Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Harmony Beef, an Alberta packing plant, halted cattle slaughter on Friday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) kept some inspectors from work, due to a positive test for COVID-19 by a Harmony worker, the company said. The partial closure follows a positive COVID-19 test by a worker at U.S. chicken […] Read more



(Country Guide file photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat drops, durum steady

MGEX, CBOT, K.C. May wheats down on week

MarketsFarm — Prairie wheat bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat were lower for the week ended Thursday, following losses in U.S. futures. Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) largely held steady, buoyed by a weaker Canadian dollar, which lost about six-10ths of a cent. Average CWRS (13.5 per […] Read more


More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers

Final list released for 2019 tax year

More ranchers who were up against a dry 2019 may now be eligible to defer some income from their livestock sales for the income tax year. The federal government on Tuesday released the “final list” of designated regions where income tax deferral on sales of breeding livestock has been authorized for 2019. In a prescribed […] Read more

File photo of a storm cloud from the southwestern end of Lake Winnipeg at Matlock, Man. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast

MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast […] Read more


(iStock/Getty Images)

Subsidy for grain dryer upgrades in Alberta draws critics

Concerns are being raised over a new program for grain drying being offered to Alberta residents. The federal and Alberta governments recently announced Alberta farmers seeking to make grain dryer improvements will have access to funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Efficient Grain Dryer Program aims to cover costs for energy efficiency improvements to […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Government of Alberta)

Alberta program to cost-share grain dryer upgrades

Applicants under previous FEAP plan eligible

Alberta plans to use federal and provincial funding to help grain growers cut the energy bills from grain drying with more fuel-efficient equipment. The provincial government on Friday announced what it’s dubbed the Efficient Grain Dryer Program, backed by $2 million from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership federal/provincial funding framework. Applicants can get 50 per cent […] Read more