Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry has released application forms for its short-term loan programs for hog and cattle producers. The provincial short-term cattle loan program forms will be available at rural municipality offices and regional Saskatchewan Agriculture offices, the province said Monday. The deadline for completed applications for the cattle program is March 31. The maximum principal […] Read more
Sask. livestock loan paperwork available
P.E.I. farmers import carbon credits
Reading Time: 2 minutes A group of Prince Edward Island farmers is offering residents an opportunity to invest in carbon credits — from Kenya. Farmers Helping Farmers, a P.E.I. group that has run exchanges with Kenyan farmers since 1980, plans to launch its new carbon credit program at its semi-annual meeting Jan. 12 (Saturday). “The program represents the first […] Read more
“Economic volatility” package seen shunning farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government’s plan for a new $1 billion fund for so-called “one-industry” towns shows no signal of help for the country’s battered livestock sector, the Canadian Pork Council said Thursday. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, visiting rural New Brunswick Thursday, launched his proposal for a Community Development Trust to “help provinces and territories assist communities […] Read more
Progress, setbacks seen in WTO proposal
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
AgriStability advances on tap for Sask. hog farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan has picked up federal government approval to start a targeted advance program (TAP) for hog farmers under the AgriStability program. TAP payments will provide hog producers with 60 per cent of their estimated 2007 benefit under AgriStability, the program that replaces the Canadian Ag Income Stabilization (CAIS) program’s coverage for margin declines of over […] Read more
Professional sign-off needed on reclaimed Alta. oil land
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reclamation and remediation work on any Alberta land that hosted oil and gas operations now needs approval from an agrologist or other recognized professional. The province on Wednesday reminded landowners and oil and gas operators that starting Jan. 1, a member of one of six approved professional bodies must be involved in and sign off […] Read more
Consumers eating higher chicken prices: review
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian consumers appear to be “slowly adapting” to increases in both retail and wholesale prices for chicken, according to a chicken market year-in-review report by the George Morris Centre. The Guelph, Ont.-based farm think tank noted in its market review Wednesday that the 2007 average wholesale price for chicken is likely to hit a historical […] Read more
CWB launches CashPlus malting barley option
Reading Time: 2 minutes An upfront cash price of over $5 a bushel for Prairie malting barley would be on offer if the Canadian Wheat Board’s new cash-price contract option were available today, CWB brass announced Wednesday. The board floated its CashPlus program for malting barley Wednesday into almost two weeks’ worth of advance criticism, made before any particulars […] Read more
Agrium extends UAP offer
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fertilizer maker and input retailer Agrium has extended its offer to buy UAP while it waits for key green lights from U.S. and Canadian antitrust regulators. The US$39-per-share offer for UAP’s publicly traded common shares — an offer that was set to expire at midnight, Jan. 8 — is now extended to midnight ET, Jan. […] Read more
Better transportation first: pulse grower poll
Reading Time: < 1 minute A chemical company’s poll of Canadian pulse crop growers finds improving transportation to be the main issue with which they require help from the pulse industry. Syngenta Crop Protection Canada on Tuesday released the results of its online survey of 170 pulse growers, conducted Dec. 5-17. The poll showed campaigning for improved transportation to be […] Read more