More details about who qualifies for the $450 million in federal and provincial aid should be known this week, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp.’s manager of claim services said in an interview July 8. It’s clear farmers with land too wet to seed this spring will qualify for the $30/acre payment, whether they are enrolled in
Relief Plan’s Details Due Shortly: Masc
CWB Turns 75 Years Old
“This milestone is particularly significant to many international customers, who view our longevity as a sign of stability in an often volatile world market environment.” – CWB CHAIRMAN ALLEN OBERG The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) turned 75 years old July 5. Loved by some and despised by others, its future is far from clear. The
CFA Rejects NFU Presence At Pre-Ag Ministers’ Meeting
“I’ve been at meetings for years where CFA people have been around and I may be forceful and make my points but I’m certainly not confrontational. I think I know the difference.” – TERRY BOEHM The National Farmers Union (NFU) didn’t get to meet with provincial agriculture ministers last week because the Canadian Federation of
CWB, China Ink Wheat Agreement
“This agreement is a significant achievement for western Canadian farmers in a very competitive market.” – CWB CEO IAN WHI TE China has been an important wheat customer for Canada over the years, but not so much recently as it strived for greater food self-sufficiency. But a memorandum of agreement signed July 3 in Shanghai
Canola Growers Concerned About Rail Costs
“We didn’t want to antagonize the minister, but we wanted to make sure that he knew we are concerned.” – ROB PETTINGER, MCGA Canola growers care about rail freight costs and want the federal government to review them, says Rob Pettinger, president of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA). Pettinger was reacting to comments from
Flood Aid From Ag Ministers’ Meeting?
“We’re not arguing about whether or not (there’s a problem) it’s how to deal with it.” – IAN WISHART It seems no one is quibbling with the scale of the disaster of soaked, unseeded fields and drowned crops in Western Canada this year. The ongoing debate right now is how best to respond. Ian Wishart,
Tool To Avoid Glyphosateresistant Weeds
“Two-and three-way mixes, are in my opinion, the answer if we’re going to use herbicides.” – GARY MARTENS Monsanto Co. has launched a web-site to help western Canadian farmers assess their risk of cultivating glyphosate-resistant weeds. “We know it (glyphosate resistance) can happen so we really wanted to generate this tool so growers could see
Getting A Head Start
If you’re thinking about getting a head start on 2011 by sowing winter wheat into some of those empty fields next month, now would be a good time to pick up some flax seed. Provincial agronomists say it’s one of the best options available to farmers looking to artificially create that all-important snow-trapping stubble needed
Ag Ministers Working On Aid For Drenched Farmers
Provincial and federal agriculture ministers are working on a package to assist Western Canadian farmers suffering through the wettest spring on record, says Manitoba Agriculture Minister Stan Struthers. And Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger is promising expedited payouts under the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation’s (MASC) Excess Moisture Insurance program. The program pays farmers $50 for each
Record Wet Spring For Much Of The Prairies
This was the wettest spring ever recorded for much of the Prairies shattering the previous record set in 1955, according to David Phillips, Environment Canada’s senior climatologist. “In my business, we break records by a fraction of a degree or a pinch of precipitation,” Phillips said in an interview last week. “But what we see