Around 300 staff are ‘affected’ but officials can’t say how many positions will be declared ‘surplus’
The Canadian Grain Commission is cutting jobs — although the exact number has yet to be determined. About 300 of the agency’s 700 workers are in “impacted positions” and some have already received letters declaring their positions “surplus,” said spokesman Remi Gosselin. “Of the 300 impacted positions, I would say about 230 perform inspection andHeads starting to roll as Canadian Grain Commission cuts costs
Grain commission considering expanding security program to feed mills
The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is considering whether it can expand its proposed new insurance-based payment security program to non-licensed buyers such as feed mills. “We at the commission have had some discussions about it and we’re looking at it,” CGC commissioner Murdoch MacKay told reporters after speaking at the Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) annual
Optimism in agriculture unprecedented, says KAP president
It’s a good time to be a farmer and the future for agriculture looks even brighter, says Keystone Agricultural Producers’ president Doug Chorney. “I think the level of optimism in agriculture today is really unprecedented,” he said in his state-of-the-industry address kicking off the general farm organization’s 29th annual meeting in Winnipeg Jan. 23. “I
Will grain farming follow same corporate ownership path as hog production?
Not all KAP members are as sanguine about farming’s future as its president Doug Chorney or Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn. Lowe Farm-area farmer Butch Harder warned changes to the Canada Grain Act weaken grain farmers. With foreigners buying farmland and the government cutting safety net programs, grain farming is being corporatized, he warned. “I
CWB privatizing sooner than later
The CWB is talking to potential partners about taking the government-owned grain company private sooner than later. “We’ve been talking to people already in the grain industry and people who are not and want to invest in it,” Gord Flaten, the CWB’s vice-president for grain procurement, told reporters Jan. 16 after speaking at Ag Days.
Lots went wrong with Manitoba canola in 2012
A lot of last year’s woes came down to the luck of the draw in terms of weather and pest and diseases issues, but the big exception to that was blackleg
It was a year to forget for Manitoba canola growers. If you’re keeping a scorecard, the list of problems suffered by growers in 2012 included high weed pressure in fields that were waterlogged in 2011, frost hitting some early-seeded crops, a blistering hot July, insect populations just under the level that warrants spraying, aster yellowsCorn, soybean crop insurance might expand to new areas
The Manitoba government is exploring whether it can expand crop insurance coverage for corn and soybeans to more parts of the province, Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn told farmers at Ag Days Jan. 15. “I want to assure the audience today our department is in the process of investigating expanding potential areas for coverage, but we’re
Supreme Court hammers another nail in wheat board’s coffin
But the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board will continue to pursue a class-action lawsuit for $17 billion in compensation
With their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada rejected, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) are vowing to continue with a class-action lawsuit, their last remaining legal avenue for challenging the federal government’s decision to end the board’s monopoly last year. The Supreme Court has refused to hear appeals of the eightPallister calls for caution on cosmetic pesticide ban
Brian Pallister says Ontario’s ban has resulted in grass fields being replaced by artificial turf harbouring infectious bacteria
Banning pesticides from Manitoba lawns and sport fields could have unintended negative consequences, says Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party Leader Brian Pallister. Banning so-called “cosmetic pesticides” — those not used in agricultural production — in Ontario has resulted in “an explosion of artificial turf fields,” because grass fields have been overrun by weeds, Pallister said inTripartite agreement signed to promote nutrient management in Manitoba
The Canadian Fertilizer Institute will spend $150,000 over three years with the Manitoba government and KAP as its partners
Anew program promoting improved nutrient management among Manitoba farmers was launched last week by the Canadian Fertilizer Institute (CFI), the Manitoba government and the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP). The three signed a 4R Nutrient stewardship memorandum of understanding Jan. 15 during Ag Days. CFI will provide $150,000 over three years to fund the extension program,