Updated, March 19 — Olymel has tabled a “final comprehensive offer” for unionized staff at its Vallee-Jonction, Que. hog slaughter plant after the workers gave negotiators a strike mandate. The meat packing arm of Quebec’s Coop Federee said Wednesday it’s at an “impasse” with its workers, represented by the Confederation des syndicats nationaux (CSN), due
Olymel hog plant staff approve strike mandate
Sask. budget trims ag spending slightly
A substantial drop in provincial resource revenue from its oil sector has Saskatchewan holding the line on spending and leaning on its potash sector in its 2015 budget. Finance Minister Ken Krawetz and Ag Minister Lyle Stewart on Wednesday announced a total ag ministry budget of $362.4 million for 2015-16, down 2.5 per cent from
Monsanto settles more U.S. farmer claims over GM wheat
The 2013 discovery of experimental Roundup Ready wheat plants in a farmer’s field in Oregon has led the crop’s developer to settle suits brought by wheat growers in seven U.S. states. Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it had reached a settlement agreement with growers in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, stemming from Japan’s
Fun for farmers — watching weeds die
Time-lapse videos help farmers identify signs of herbicide resistance
The weed science team at Ohio State University has come up with a set of videos that farmers might enjoy even more than binge watching “House of Cards” — weeds slowly dying after being sprayed with herbicides. For every second of movie time shown, one hour of real time passes in the time-lapse videos. The
WeatherFarm boosts local-level data for farmers
Prairie weather network WeatherFarm has moved to expand the data it can provide to farmers through its new daily email. The network, operated by ag meteorology firm Weather Innovations Consulting (WIN) in partnership with Glacier Farmmedia, owners of this website, gets its data mainly from over 1,100 weather stations set up at farms, grain elevators
CN shopcraft staff ratify labour deal
Updated, March 18 — Unionized rail car and locomotive repair, maintenance and inspection staff at Canadian National Railway (CN) have approved the 11th-hour deal that kept them from being locked out last month. CN, in a release Tuesday, said members of its shopcraft group of about 2,100 employees, represented by Unifor Local 100R, have voted
Alberta ag minister books off after surgery
Alberta Premier Jim Prentice has named an associate agriculture and rural development minister to handle the portfolio while provincial Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson takes sick leave. Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Everett McDonald, a farmer and former reeve for the County of Grande Prairie, was appointed Tuesday to the associate minister’s post. Olson, the ag minister since
Selling wheat below $1.68 per bushel
Our History: March 1968
You could send a cheque or money order for $1.75 to reserve tickets for the Leroy Van Dyke performance at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair advertised in our March 20, 1968 issue. You could also pick up tickets at Eaton’s in Brandon. On our front page we reported that Trade Minister Jean-Luc Pepin had told
Four Unifor locals ratify deals with CN
Four of five groups of Canadian National Railway (CN) employees have voted to ratify the new collective labour deals that kept them from being locked out last month. CN said Monday its unionized clerical/intermodal/fleet mechanic, CNTL and excavator-operator units, all represented by Unifor locals, have all voted in favour of agreements with 51-month terms. The
Catching wild hogs by smartphone
Non-profit foundation teams with livestock company to produce drop-down system
A U.S. research foundation has announced commercialization of a trap designed to capture feral hogs, which it says cost $1.5 billion in losses in 48 U.S. states. The Noble Foundation, based in Ardmore, Oklahoma along with W-W Livestock Systems of Thomas, Okla. unveiled the BoarBuster trap at the recent National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
