Reading Time: 2 minutes (Resource News International) — Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz defended the use and production of biofuels in Canada at a May 30 meeting between federal, provincial, and territorial ministers of agriculture, saying Canada’s biofuel initiative strikes a good balance between food and fuel. Following the meeting, Ritz was asked to comment on the recent release […] Read more
Ritz defends Canada’s biofuel programs
“No way” barley monopoly ends by Aug. 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Resource News International) — There’s “no way” the Conservative government can pass Bill C-46 before the House of Commons breaks for summer in mid-June, according to NDP MP Pat Martin. If Martin’s correct, that means the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) barley marketing monopoly will definitely remain intact at least until the start of the 2008-09 […] Read more
Little damage seen in Man., Sask. frosts
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Resource News International) — Cool temperatures and a late spring are believed to have prevented crops in Manitoba and isolated regions of Saskatchewan from suffering any major damage from overnight frost. “I don’t think there was any substantial damage as a result of the cool overnight temperatures that were experienced in Manitoba and parts of […] Read more
Livestock industry bracing for U.S. COOL
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Resource News International) — Facing the U.S. government’s inevitable implementation of country-of-origin-labelling (COOL) this coming fall, the Canadian livestock industry is preparing itself as best it can given the uncertainty surrounding the controversial legislation, according to industry sources. When COOL is implemented in October, the Canadian livestock industry has made it clear it would prefer […] Read more
Hog producers await China ruling on Paylean
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian market access to China is expected to improve in the latter half of the year with Chinese officials expected to decide this summer whether or not to approve the use of the hog feed additive commonly marketed under the brand name Paylean, according to an Canadian pork industry official. “Hopefully by July China will […] Read more
Ont. facing up to 40 per cent fewer hog farms
Reading Time: 3 minutes (Resource News International) — Canadian hog producers will continue to liquidate their herds in the coming year with no apparent end in sight to soaring corn prices, according to industry sources. The release of the March 31 U.S. Department of Agriculture prospective plantings report confirmed what most people in the industry already suspected, namely that […] Read more
Hay industry upbeat on exports, prices
Reading Time: 4 minutes (Resource News International) — Declining U.S. hay acreage will provide greater export opportunities for Canadian producers in the upcoming 2008-09 crop year, with prices expected to firm, according to industry sources. Hay acreage in the U.S. for 2008-09 was pegged in the March 31 U.S. Department of Agriculture prospective plantings report at 60.6 million acres, […] Read more
Damaged CPR line expected open shortly
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Resource News International) — The Canadian Pacific (CPR) rail line affected in Monday’s train collision 12 miles south of Weyburn, Sask., is expected to return to operation as soon as the end of the day, according to Mike LoVecchio, CPR’s senior manager of media relations. “Now that we’re moving to the assessment and retrieval stage, […] Read more
Sunflower growers not worried over increased U.S. acres
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Resource News International) — Canadian sunflower producers say increased oilseed sunflower acreage in the United States will not hurt the Canadian market as demand from U.S. crushers is also expected to increase. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2008-09 prospective planting report, released March 31, forecast U.S. oilseed sunflower acres at 1.848 million, up […] Read more
Cool spring expected on Prairies
Reading Time: 3 minutes (Resource News International) — Cool temperatures are expected in most Prairie province regions this spring while precipitation forecasts range from below to above average, according to industry experts. “The forecast calls for it to be cooler than usual during the spring in Manitoba, especially in the central and northern parts of the province and from […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
