The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association (WCWGA) is seeking a new executive director. Robin Speer, who took over the job from Blair Rutter Nov. 2, 2015, joined CN Rail in mid-September as manager for public affairs in Saskatchewan. Speer said in his new position he will work with Saskatchewan municipalities, industry organizations, city and provincial officials. “I will
WCWGA searching for new executive director
Robin Speer, who has had the job since Nov. 2, 2015, joined CN Rail last month
Legal opinion backs Pallister’s approach to carbon pricing
Manitoba’s ‘Green Plan’ to cut emissions will be out soon and the premier says he wants Manitobans’ feedback
Manitoba’s decision to develop its own plan to cut carbon emissions, to be released soon, has been vindicated, says Premier Brian Pallister. “If we just say no, we get Trudeau,” Pallister told reporters Oct. 11 after the provincial government released a report prepared by Bryan Schwartz, a University of Manitoba law professor, that concludes the
Arkansas moving closer to in-crop dicamba restrictions
Its plant board wants an April 15 to Oct. 31 ban to prevent injury to crops from drift
Arkansas farmers might not be allowed to apply dicamba in annual crops during the 2018 growing season. A regulatory change prohibiting dicamba applications between April 15 and Oct. 31, was approved by the Arkansas State Plant Board, Arkansas’ Agriculture Department said in a news release Sept. 21. Read more: U.S. EPA gives dicamba ‘restricted use’ label
Broadcasting nitrogen in fall least efficient approach
It’s also the least environmentally friendly
Broadcasting in fall is the quickest and easiest way to apply nitrogen — and the least efficient. So why, anecdotally at least, does the practice seem to be on the increase? Bigger farms and a shortage of labour could be part of it. Moreover, nobody knows when poor weather will shut down field operations. And
MPSG clarifies position on a Manitoba soybean-crushing plant
The association supports the goal, but says the location will be decided by the company that builds
Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers (MPSG) supports efforts to attract a soybean-crushing plant to Manitoba, but is neutral on where it’s built, says association executive director Francois Labelle. “We want to see a facility built in Manitoba,” Labelle said in an interview Sept. 29. “That has been our position since we first started talking about
Farmers Edge expands satellite imagery offering
Farmers Edge says it’s making satellite imagery a practical and affordable agronomic tool for farmers through a new strategic partnership with Planet, the company with the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites. “We think this will be game-changing,” Farmers Edge president and CEO Wade Barnes said in an interview Oct. 3. “I think it’s going to
Fall is the best time for controlling foxtail barley
It might be too late in the season now, but there are ways to tackle this weed in the spring too
Fall is the best time to control many perennial weeds with glyphosate, including foxtail barley, but it might already be too late. Weed surveys show foxtail barley is on the increase, Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist Jeanette Gaultier said Sept. 20 on her last day in the position, during the Westman Crop Talk webinar. “In the
Manitoba project aids Zimbabwean food security
Hemp Genetics International thinks Canadian and Zimbabwean farmers can learn from each other
If you had four children, but only enough food to feed one, how would you choose? It’s a choice Vurayayi Pugeni’s mother had to make when he was growing up in Zimbabwe. Fortunately it’s not one mothers today in Pugeni’s village have to make because they enjoy food security, thanks in part to a research
Roquette breaks ground on Portage pea-processing plant
A ceremony held last week marked the formal start of the construction phase
Manitoba farmers don’t grow many field peas anymore, but that could change when the world’s biggest pea-processing plant, being built here by French-based Roquette, starts operating in April 2019. Pascal Leroy, Roquette’s vice-president for pea and new protein business line, and Premier Brian Pallister, broke ground Sept. 28 for the $400-million facility, in what had
Did Bill Morneau just blink?
The finance minister says proposed tax changes will be altered so they don’t discourage incorporated farmers from selling to family members
Farmers’ concerns about the federal government’s proposed controversial tax reforms for private corporations haven’t fallen on deaf ears. Finance Minister Bill Morneau says the reforms will be changed so as not to discourage farmers from saving for retirement, employing family members, or selling their operations to the next generation. Read more: Q & A: Brian Pallister