Legal action to force Ottawa to hold a plebiscite on whether to keep or end the Canadian Wheat Board s (CWB) single desk will be heard in Federal Court. On Sept. 9 a Federal Court prothonotary rejected the federal government s application to dismiss the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board s (FCWB) application filed
FCWB’s Court Case Continues
Australian Trade Minister Supports End To Single Desk
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has a new high-profile ally in his quest to end the Canadian Wheat Board s (CWB) single desk Australian trade minister Craig Emerson. The Australian Wheat Board s export monopoly ended in 2008 and Emerson said it has been a great success. The Australian experience has been unambiguously good, he said
Combine Adjustment Tips
Combining faster cuts harvesting costs, but can also result in higher grain loses, says Les Hill, manager of agricultural technical services at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) in Humboldt, Sask. We know it s all balance, Hill said Sept. 9 during a webinar for the Canola Council of Canada on maximizing canola harvesting. When
New Soybean Variety Promises Earliest Maturity
Pekko, a new soybean from Elite Seeds distributed in Manitoba by BrettYoung, is being touted as the earliest Roundup Ready 2 variety in the world. We re pretty sure it s as early as it gets, Jrme Auclair, a plant breeder with La Coop fdre, which owns Elite Seeds, said during a plot tour here
Soil Testing Should Be A Priority This Fall
Don’t guess, soil test. That’s John Heard’s message to farmers this fall, especially in fields that didn’t get seeded or were flooded this spring. “In 2010, it looks like the average soil nitrogen level on fallow was about 60 pounds per acre, but that’s of no value to the individual farmer because he doesn’t know
Assistance Available For Restoring Eroded Land
Before some Manitoba farmers seed next spring they have weeds to work down, others have ruts to smooth out, while some have big washouts to repair in the wake of spring flooding. Farmers can apply for financial assistance to restore farmland scarred by water erosion, an official with Manitoba’s cabinet communications said last week. Each
Oberg Reacts To WCWGA Plan For Post-Monopoly CWB
Aproposal for a revamped voluntary Canadian Wheat Board that calls for no startup capital would be “a recipe for disaster,” the board’s current chair Allen Oberg says. “If it has to operate on strictly commercial terms it will not survive for long,” the Forestburg, Alta. farmer said in response to the plan released by the
Biotechnology Helps Dow AgroSciences In Canola Hybrid Search
Like prospectors searching for the mother lode, canola breeders are on a never-ending quest for the next highest-yielding hybrid. Whether it’s a rich gold vein or higher yields, the more one looks, the better one’s chances of finding them. Biotechnology is helping companies such as Dow AgroSciences screen more crosses faster, Van Ripley, Dow AgroSciences’
Soybeans Chasing Canola’s High-Stability Oil Markets
High-stability canola oil is gaining market share in food services and food manufacturing, but the soybean industry is fighting back. In 2010 the United States Department of Agriculture granted Monsanto’s new Vistive Gold soybean “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) status. Now companies can test Vistive Gold’s high-oleic oil in food, a prerequisite to commercialization. And
Consider Fall Weed Control
The wet spring didn’t just delay or prevent seeding, it spawned unusual weed problems, including one relatively new to Manitoba called Northern willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum). “This year it’s everywhere,” Scott Day, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ (MAFRI) diversification specialist in Melita, said in an interview Aug. 25. “You have areas of fields where it