Reading Time: 2 minutes The wholesale crop input arm of Quebec’s La Coop federee has expanded its retail reach further west on the Prairies with a stake in a central Alberta input retailer group. Agrico Canada, part of the Quebec federation of ag co-ops since 2011, last week announced a deal to buy a 50 per cent interest in […] Read more
Agrico buys stake in Alberta input retail chain
MacAulay to visit China on trade mission to boost food exports
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Lawrence MacAulay, will lead a trade mission next week to China as part of Canada’s efforts to double bilateral trade with that country and grow global agri-food exports to $75 billion by 2025. A news release distributed on Nov. 9, said, “with a population of 1.4 billion people, and a growing appetite for high-quality Canadian food products, […] Read more
Crop research partnership maps two lentil genomes
Reading Time: 2 minutes A partnership between University of Saskatchewan (U of S) crop scientists and genomic big data company NRGene of Israel has successfully sequenced two wild lentil genomes—the largest legume genomes ever assembled. In a Nov. 8 news release, the U of S said the research was part of the $7.9-million Genome Canada-funded “Application of Genomics to […] Read more
Cash ticket deferral option to remain unchanged
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government is leaving its deferred cash purchase ticket policy unchanged. When listed grains (wheat, oats, barley, rye, flax, canola, rapeseed) are delivered for payment at a licensed elevator, an elevator operator can issue either a cash purchase ticket or a deferred cash purchase ticket, payable in the year following the year in which […] Read more
Feds announce tax support for farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute In a news release distributed today linked to Budget 2017, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced tax relief to help farmers who received compensation under the Health of Animals Act from livestock destroyed due to the bovine tuberculosis outbreak in 2016 and 2017 in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The federal government also released its 2017 list of designated regions for livestock […] Read more
Best Cooking Pulses named finalist for ‘Organic Champion’ award
Reading Time: 2 minutes Best Cooking Pulses, Inc., a Canadian family-owned company that has been active in the international pulse trade for 81 years, has been named as a finalist in the Fi Europe 2017 ‘Organic Champion’ Innovation Awards for its range of ‘BEST’ Certified-Organic Pea Hull Fibers. The Fi Europe Innovation Awards honours professionals and companies for their […] Read more
Canadian agricultural exporters urge Trans Pacific Partnership without U.S.
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), added its voice to the long list of Canadian agricultural exporters urging the federal government to achieve a trade deal with the 11 remaining Trans Pacific Partnership members. The planned summit in Vietnam next week represents a unique opportunity for Canada to take the forefront in negotiations as the […] Read more
Ex-Wildrose ag critic to handle file for merged Tories
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s new provincial opposition United Conservatives have gone to the former Wildrose bench for their first agriculture critic. Jason Kenney, the former federal Conservative cabinet minister who was elected Saturday as the United Conservative Party’s first leader, on Tuesday named Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman as the opposition critic for agriculture, facing the New Democrats’ Agriculture […] Read more
CP conductors, engineers reject short-term deal
Reading Time: < 1 minute Unionized conductors and engineers at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) have voted down a proposed one-year renewal of their collective agreement. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, whose train and engine (T+E) unit represents about 3,050 Canadian conductors and engineers at CP, announced Wednesday its membership had voted 67.1 per cent against the extension. Negotiators with CP […] Read more
Alberta back in national chicken quota arrangement
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new federal-provincial agreement for allocating broiler chicken quota will formally include Alberta Chicken Producers for the first time since 2013. Chicken Farmers of Canada announced Thursday it has a new federal-provincial agreement (FPA) in hand, including a new quota allocation methodology. The new deal was concluded Tuesday, CFC said, when the Farm Products Council […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
