Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — A U.S. appeals court ruled on Thursday that federal regulators erred in allowing an insecticide developed by Dow AgroSciences onto the market, canceling its approval and giving environmentalists a major victory. The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, is significant for commercial beekeepers and others […] Read more
U.S. court finds EPA wrong to approve sulfoxaflor over bee risks
B+G to buy Green Giant frozen foods business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Snack food company B+G Foods said it would buy General Mills’ Green Giant frozen foods and Le Sueur canned vegetables brands for about US$765 million to expand its distribution network and enter the frozen foods market. Growth in the frozen vegetables category has been sluggish in recent years as consumers shift to fresher […] Read more
EU to give 500M euros to farmers hit by Russia sanctions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission announced a 500 million-euro (C$743 million) package of measures on Monday to provide relief for farmers stung by slumping prices, triggered partly by the loss of exports to Russia due to EU sanctions against the country. The crisis has triggered a wave of protests which culminated on Monday […] Read more
Bayer issues fungicide warning for wine grape growers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Zurich | Reuters — Germany’s Bayer has advised wine grape growers not to use its Moon Privilege fungicide until its Bayer CropScience arm has investigated whether there’s a connection between the product’s use and reported crop damage. Growers have reported deformed leaves and lower yields from their crops this year. Referring to “atypical symptoms” in […] Read more
Syngenta to sell vegetable seeds operations
Reading Time: < 1 minute Zurich | Reuters — Swiss agrichemicals group Syngenta plans to sell its vegetable seeds business and buy back more than US$2 billion worth of stock in a campaign to boost shareholder returns after it rejected a takeover approach from Monsanto. “The board and management are determined to accelerate shareholder value creation and our actions today […] Read more
Canadian chain New York Fries to join Cara
Reading Time: 2 minutes A potato-based staple of shopping-mall food courts across Canada is set to become an arm of the country’s biggest full-service restaurant operator. The numbered owner of New York Fries agreed Monday to a cash deal to sell its entire stake to Cara Operations Ltd., which operates or franchises dining brands across Canada including Swiss Chalet, […] Read more
Research funds to boost french fry exports
The funds will be used to identify factors that limit potato yields
Reading Time: < 1 minute Potatoes New Brunswick will lead a national research effort to improve potato yields and boost the export competitiveness of Canadian french fries with the help of up to $1.4 million in government support. The investment through AgriInnovation will enable Potatoes New Brunswick to work with other industry partners, Agriculture Canada scientists and universities, to identify […] Read more
Genetically modified diamondback moth offers pest control hope
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters –– Scientists in Britain say they have developed a way of genetically modifying and controlling an invasive species of moth that causes serious pest damage to cabbages, kale, canola and other similar crops worldwide. In what they said could be a pesticide-free and environmentally-friendly way to control insect pests, the scientists, from […] Read more
Mycorrhizal fungi a potential yield booster in potatoes
Potato Guide: A relative newcomer to the fields, the benefits are hard to ignore
Reading Time: 4 minutes An intensively farmed crop such as potatoes always demands diligence in production. In addition to irrigation and finding suitable rotation crops, growers are constantly looking for an upper hand in dealing with nutrient issues and measures aimed at improving soil health and overall production. That might be where there’s an intriguing fit for a relatively […] Read more
Signs of a recovery in the french-fry business
Potato Guide: While the rest of the agriculture sector nervously eyes the oil melt-down, the potato industry might actually be poised for a comeback
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just one simple fact helps you understand the Canadian potato industry, and that’s just how big our crop is relative to domestic consumption. We Canucks consume just under 26 pounds of potatoes a year, but we produce about 10.2 billion pounds a year — 310 pounds for every man, woman and child in the country. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
