(Andreus/iStock/Getty Images)

Farm cybersecurity campaign seeks farmer input

CSKA online survey open until Feb. 18

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian farmers are being asked for their input on a federally-backed project to assess and improve cybersecurity in Canada’s ag sector. The Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, the lead organization on the Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project, has put up a voluntary online survey for farm operators, running until Feb. 18, “to look at […] Read more

(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Vaccine mandate to lead to inflation, empty shelves, trucking executives say

Parallel mandate for U.S. entry starts Saturday

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian consumers should soon see higher prices and some empty shelves in supermarkets and other retail outlets because of disruptions stemming from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, top trucking executives warned this week. The mandate, imposed by Ottawa to help curb the spread of the virus, has cost six […] Read more


(M+M Food Market video screengrab via YouTube)

On The Run operator to buy M+M Food Market

Parkland Corp. to pay $322M for frozen-food retailer

Reading Time: 2 minutes A well-known Canadian food retailer selling flash-frozen meals, entrees, side dishes and desserts direct to consumers is headed to expansion-minded new owners. Calgary-based Parkland Corp., which operates fuel and convenience retail chains and bulk fuel distribution businesses in Canada and elsewhere, announced Tuesday it’s signed an agreement to buy M+M Food Market for about $322 […] Read more

Manitoba’s new ag minister Derek Johnson, whose constituency includes Diageo’s Crown Royal distillery at Gimli, congratulated the company on social media Monday for prizes earned at the Canadian Whisky Awards. Those included distillery of the year for Gimli, and Canadian whisky of the year for Crown Royal Nobel Collection Winter Wheat. (Facebook)

Manitoba names new ag minister in shuffle

Derek Johnson replaces Ralph Eichler

Reading Time: 2 minutes Another MLA from Manitoba’s Interlake region has been named to handle the province’s farm file in Premier Heather Stefanson’s latest cabinet shuffle and portfolio restructuring. Stefanson, who replaced Brian Pallister as premier in November, on Tuesday named Interlake-Gimli MLA Derek Johnson as minister of agriculture, replacing Lakeside MLA Ralph Eichler, who has been dropped from […] Read more


Seeding in southwestern Manitoba in the spring of 2021. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

Last year was world’s sixth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Heat content of oceans at record level, NOAA says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Last year ranked as the sixth-warmest year on record, causing extreme weather events around the world and adding to evidence supporting the globe’s long-term warming, according to an analysis on Thursday by two U.S. government agencies. The data compiled by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA also revealed that […] Read more

Sea surface temperature anomalies over the equatorial Pacific Ocean for the week centred on Jan. 5, 2022. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Niña likely to continue into spring, U.S. forecaster says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — La Nina conditions are likely to continue during the Northern Hemisphere spring, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday. The La Niña weather pattern, characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, has a 67 per cent chance of persisting from March through May this year, the National Weather Service’s […] Read more


A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

Cross-border supply chains still may face disruptions from vaccine mandates

Reading Time: 2 minutes CLARIFIED, Jan. 13 — Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — COVID-19 vaccine requirements for foreign truckers at the U.S.-Canada border still could cause supply-chain disruptions if both countries do not decide to allow exemptions, the head of the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said Thursday. Canadian truck drivers who aren’t vaccinated may enter Canada by right — but […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Canada resists pressure to drop vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States. Canada will require all truckers entering from the U.S. to show proof […] Read more


Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies in degrees Celsius for the week centred on Dec. 29, 2021. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

La Niña introduces itself with Prairie cold snap

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The frigid conditions which had enveloped the Prairie provinces in recent weeks is a sign La Niña has come again, according to a Kansas-based meteorologist. Since mid-December, the Prairies have been in a deep freeze beginning with temperatures at least 10 C below-normal. Since the holiday season, many towns and cities in the […] Read more

A General Motors illustration featuring a display version of its 2024 Silverado EV pickup, due for release in the fall of 2023. (Media.GM.ca)

GM to chase rivals with US$105,000 electric Silverado

Less expensive retail Silverado EV to follow in 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes Detroit | Reuters — General Motors’ US$35 billion electric vehicle strategy will face its biggest test in 2023 when it launches an electric version of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup with a six-figure price tag, more than a year after rivals Ford and Rivian Automotive. GM CEO Mary Barra on Wednesday told the annual CES technology […] Read more