Ontario to scale back renewable energy purchases

Toronto | Reuters –– Ontario will scale back its purchase of renewable power in a move expected to result in savings of up to $3.8 billion from a 2013 forecast, the provincial government said on Tuesday. It’s not clear consumers will benefit directly, though the province’s Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault told a news conference a



(EC.europa.eu)

EU, Canada seek to win over CETA doubters with declaration

Vienna/Brussels | Reuters — Canada’s trade minister and the European Union’s trade chief sought Wednesday to overcome the doubts of Austria and other EU members over a planned EU-Canada free trade deal, with a declaration spelling out the limits of the contentious pact. Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking in Vienna, said the legally binding




Austria’s Parliament Building, in Vienna. (CIA.gov)

Austrian government split on opposition to CETA

Vienna | Reuters –– Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern’s opposition to a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada was countered by fervent praise for the deal from his deputy at a special parliamentary session on the issue on Wednesday. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, negotiations for which have finished,


Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: No. 20

Conditions as of September 12, 2016

Wet weather over the past week slowed harvest progress in Manitoba. The recent weather is also impacting crop quality in spring wheat and barley. Some crops are being harvested at tough or damp moisture levels, requiring aeration or artificial drying to achieve safe storage moisture levels. Soybeans, grain corn and sunflowers are maturing quickly. Silage

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

TPP study sees net ‘neutral’ effect on dairy sector

An economic impact study on Canada’s participation in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal finds losses in Canada’s dairy sector would be “offset” by gains for dairy processors from cheaper dairy imports. The study, prepared for the federal government by its Office of the Chief Economist and released Friday, notes Canada has offered expanded access


New crops and varieties developed here will help expand market opportunities for vegetable farmers, says Keith Kuhl chair of Peak of the Market and Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, the grower co-operative’s director of research and quality enhancement.

Winkler-area research site to help expand markets for vegetable growers

Site will evaluate varieties and crop management techniques for 
fresh-market potatoes and carrots, and even sweet potatoes

Those orange-fleshed sweet potatoes Canadians love eating travel many miles to reach our dinner plates. Most are grown in the southern U.S., where a much longer and warmer growing season makes commercial production possible. Now new varietal research, underway near Winkler, may make field production of them possible in a Canadian climate too. Sweet potatoes

Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, shown here at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in March. Global Affairs Canada via YouTube)

Canada working toward EU trade agreement in October

Toronto | Reuters –– Canada is working toward signing a new trade agreement with the European Union in October, federal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday. “We’re working hard for it to be the year when CETA, the Canada-EU trade agreement, is signed. We’re working towards signing in October and ratification early next year,” she