Quebec ag co-op to power up on dairy cattle manure

About a dozen Quebec dairy farms will be getting their collective manure together next year for the province's first-ever ag co-operative devoted to renewable natural gas. Coop Agri-Energie Warwick, launched Monday, plans to start construction this spring on a $12 million biomethanization plant which will take in slurry and manure from dairy cattle mixed with[...]

Ontario ag minister downed in Tories' election win

The Ontario Liberals' minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs is among the election-night casualties as the province's Progressive Conservatives get set to form a majority government. As of midnight CT Friday, Doug Ford's Tories were elected or leading in 76 of 124 ridings, followed by Andrea Horwath's New Democrats in 40 and Kathleen Wynne's[...]


Toronto juice firm backed for 'cold pasteurization'

A Toronto organic juice processor that bills itself as shunning conventional pasteurization for its products has picked up federal funding to develop a "new-to-Canada" way to extend their shelf life. The federal government on Friday announced a "repayable investment" of up to $6.3 million from the AgriInnovation program for Greenhouse Juice Co. to set up[...]

Pearce: UAV system adds immediacy to crop diagnostics

When Felix Weber brought the Swinglet Cam to market about three years ago, the capability for "reading" a crop's progress through different imagining cameras was considered revolutionary. Adoption of the technology has been slow, though, with early innovators spreading the message. This year, senseFly, manufacturer of the Swinglet Cam, has introduced the eBee Ag system,[...]


Pearce: Ruling over Ont. wind farm does more to confuse

Many a battle over rural resources and farm development has been waged between rural neighbours in the past 15 years -- ranging from legal challenges surrounding hog barn constructions to the development of gravel pits beneath arable land. In the latest such battle, a recent ruling by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice would appear[...]

HayEast's government funding expires

The HayEast drive to get Prairie hay to livestock producers in parched regions of Ontario and Quebec is expected to continue past the expiry of its government funding. "Government funds have expired, but organizers are still assessing how many more farmers we can continue to help before the private donations run out," Mark Wales, president[...]


No extra tax for Ont. farms' small-scale power plants

Ontario farmers generating power for the provincial grid through roof-mounted solar panels, small ground-mounted panels or biogas digesters won't face added property taxes on those installations. The province on Wednesday announced "additional categories" of property tax assessment based on the size and location of privately-owned systems generating and selling power through its FIT and microFIT[...]