Reading Time: 3 minutes The Parti Quebecois’ agriculture minister and his critics in Quebec’s assembly have held their seats in the wake of an election that’s upended the province’s government. Francois Gendron, who’d served as Premier Pauline Marois’ deputy premier and the province’s agriculture, food and fisheries minister since September 2012, held his Abitibi-Ouest riding in Monday night’s election […] Read more
Que. ag minister, ag critics hold seats in PQ loss
Sask. to ease kill rules on wolves, ravens
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan plans to clear a regulatory path for hunters to better target wolves in areas where they’ve become a predator problem — and will now allow landowners to kill ravens in areas where the birds are also predators. Amendments to the province’s Wildlife Regulations have been set up to allow landowners to protect property from […] Read more
Get grain piles safely binned before May, expert warns
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the Prairies’ top experts in stored grain’s circle of life is warning farmers to get piled or bagged crops up off the ground before next month. Last fall’s bumper harvest and this winter’s grain rail freight backlog have together left Prairie farmers without sufficient bin space storing crops in Silobags or Quonsets or […] Read more
PotashCorp CEO to step down, replacement named
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan-based fertilizer giant PotashCorp has announced its CEO’s plans to step down in July and has named a copper mining firm’s CEO as his replacement. Bill Doyle, PotashCorp’s CEO since 1999, announced Sunday he will step down as chief executive after 27 years with the company, and remain as a “senior advisor” through June 2015. […] Read more
U.S. appeal court to reconsider whether to block COOL
Reading Time: 3 minutes A U.S. appeals court which last month rejected North American meat and livestock industry groups’ plea to halt U.S. mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) on meat has scrapped its own ruling and will re-hear the groups’ case in May. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit announced Friday it has vacated the […] Read more
Toronto pork packer in creditor protection
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s hog farmers are still processing news that a mainstay of the Toronto meat packing industry is in creditor protection. Quality Meat Packers and its Toronto Abattoirs arm have been granted 30 days’ creditor protection Thursday to “evaluate restructuring alternatives,” Ontario Pork reported Friday morning. Ontario Pork, which represents the province’s 1,500-plus hog producers, said […] Read more
Mountie pursues stolen tractor on snowmobile
Reading Time: < 1 minute RCMP at Blackfalds, Alta., north of Red Deer, have charged a 25-year-old man with theft and breaking and entering in the wake of a rural “mini-crime spree” and a wild, albeit geared-down, chase through snow-covered fields. CLICK HERE to read Alexis Kienlen’s story on the Alberta Farmer website.
Shareholders approve Canada Bread takeover
Reading Time: < 1 minute Shareholders in Canadian fresh and frozen bakery firm Canada Bread have voted their blessing for the company’s $1.83 billion takeover by Mexican bakery giant Grupo Bimbo. Bimbo’s offer, announced in February, was approved by shareholders holding about 99.98 per cent of common shares voted at a special meeting held Thursday, the Toronto company said. Said […] Read more
Ontario’s ‘greener’ diesel mandate takes effect
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s plan to ease its way toward mandatory minimum biodiesel content of four per cent in regular diesel is underway, starting with a two per cent mandate as of April 1. As announced Thursday, and running until the end of 2015, all fuel suppliers will be required to ensure the diesel they place in the […] Read more
Viterra to build new W. Sask. capacity
Reading Time: 2 minutes Revised, April 3, 2014 — Viterra is hatching plans to return to the Kindersley area of western Saskatchewan with its own new high-throughput grain elevator. The Regina company, now the Prairie grain handling arm of Swiss commodity firm Glencore Xstrata, announced Thursday its “intent” to build a new 34,000-tonne capacity concrete elevator at Kindersley with […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
