Reading Time: 3 minutes Saskatchewan farmers were able to move forward on harvest last week while rainfall bogged down operations in Manitoba, the two provinces’ agriculture departments reported Tuesday. Reporters in parts of Saskatchewan expressed concerns about flooding, ergot, bleaching, staining and lodging, the province said. Southern areas in the province got up to 50 mm of rainfall on […] Read more
Rains stall Man. harvest, Sask. behind average
Deere to shut Ontario plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes A southern Ontario factory making John Deere’s Gator utility vehicles and farm equipment attachments is expected to close by the end of 2009, with its work shipped to the U.S. and Mexico. Deere and Co. announced Tuesday that it will close its plant at Welland, Ont., southwest of Niagara Falls, affecting about 800 workers. The […] Read more
BASF names new Canadian ag chief
Reading Time: < 1 minute BASF’s former global fungicide marketing manager is returning to Canada as the head of the German chemical giant’s Canadian ag product lines. Brian Denys has been named business director for BASF Canada Crop Protection, effective Sept. 1, the company said in a release Tuesday. Denys, who grew up on a farm in western Ontario and […] Read more
Aphid-resistant soybean variety launched
Reading Time: < 1 minute Syngenta Seeds Canada plans to have North America’s first aphid-resistant soybean variety available for sale to growers in November, the company said Tuesday. RAG1 soybean seeds offer “season-long protection” from soybean aphids, the company said. The variety has a rare genetic trait that’s “native only to soybean,” was developed in RAG1 using traditional plant breeding […] Read more
Aid pledged for rained-out Cape Breton farms
Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal and Nova Scotia governments have promised support for Cape Breton farmers struggling with recent “overwhelming” rains. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and his provincial counterpart, Brooke Taylor, said Monday that they are “committed” to “find ways to help producers in Cape Breton.” Ritz said he would “immediately” send senior officials from Agriculture and […] Read more
“Integrity” sought for FCC loans: report
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reports of a loan from Farm Credit Canada for a disgraced former Liberal cabinet minister to buy a Quebec vineyard have the Conservative government calling for “personal integrity” as a consideration when Crown agencies review loan applications. Montreal newspaper La Presse reported on Saturday that Alfonso Gagliano, Jean Chretien’s former minister of public works and […] Read more
Quorum’s sister firm hired for rail review
Reading Time: 2 minutes Edmonton consulting company QGI has been picked to handle two major projects as part of the federal government’s rail freight service review. QGI is a sister company of Quorum Corp., the contractor that produces the quarterly Grain Monitor report for the federal government. “QGI’s understanding of the government’s requirements for the project, their approach and […] Read more
Ont. grain to feed whisky plant expansion
Reading Time: < 1 minute Scottish liquor company William Grant and Sons is planning to add equipment and boost production at its Hiram Walker plant in Windsor, Ont. to handle and bottle the Gibson’s Whisky product lines. Installation of the new equipment will be funded by an $850,000 investment from the Ontario government, the province announced Friday. “This new production […] Read more
Feds fund oilseed research network
Reading Time: 2 minutes Exchanges of information and expertise on oilseed biology, with an eye toward new petroleum substitutes, will get a $3 million boost from Ottawa, the federal government announced Friday. Christian Paradis, the federal secretary of state for agriculture, announced the funding for the Industrial Oil Seed Network (IOSN) Friday in Thetford Mines, Que. Of the $3 […] Read more
Lower loonie supports wheat in PROs
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian dollar’s recent weakening has improved the prospects for Prairie wheat growers in the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) latest pool return outlook (PRO). Current concerns over the quality of the wheat crop in Europe and the Black Sea region offer support against the pressure of continued expectations for record world wheat production, and lend […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
