Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn has been appointed as minister of infrastructure and transportation and minister responsible for emergency measures. He replaces Steve Ashton, who has resigned from cabinet to run for NDP leader at a convention in March. Kostyshyn will also remain minister of agriculture, food and rural development, a post he has held
More duties for Manitoba ag minister
Co-ops put Que. urea plant plan on ‘pause’
Development work toward a major new nitrogen fertilizer plant in Quebec is on hold while its partners seek more investors to climb on board. IFFCO — the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Co-operative, one of India’s largest fertilizer makers — and Quebec agrifood co-operative giant La Coop federee said Tuesday they’ve suspended preparation of “preliminary plans and
CN to pay WGRF $5.2 million
The Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) says it will receive $5,231,011 from CN Rail for exceeding its revenue entitlement for 2013-14. The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled Dec. 18 that CN has exceeded its maximum revenue entitlement under legislation that caps the revenue it can receive for grain during the crop year. CP was found to
New record corn yield — 503 bushels
Randy Dowdy of Valdosta, Georgia has been declared winner of the U.S. National Corn Growers Association 2014 National Corn Yield Contest with an all-time record of 503 bushels per acre. The 18 winners in six production categories had verified yields averaging more than 383.6 bushels per acre, compared to the projected national average of 173.4
Talks fold on contracts for CN mechanics, clerical staff
About 4,800 unionized mechanics, clerical workers, excavator operators and truck drivers at Canadian National Railway (CN) will go into the new year without new contracts. Unifor, whose locals have five collective agreements with Montreal-based CN, announced Thursday it’s been “unable to reach a new tentative collective agreement” in negotiations with CN since mid-September. The company
Canada Bread to buy Saputo snack cake business
Canada’s biggest dairy processor is set to sell its baked goods business to Canada Bread for $120 million cash. Montreal-based Saputo’s baked goods business is billed as Canada’s top producer of snack cakes, sold mainly in the Canadian retail market and “on a small scale” in the U.S. The company’s cakes are sold under the
CN overshoots 2013-14 grain handling revenue cap
The Western Grains Research Foundation will get a $4.98 million gift this season from Canadian National Railway, but not out of holiday spirit per se. The Canadian Transportation Agency on Thursday ruled CN, during the 2013-14 crop year, exceeded its maximum allowable revenue from Prairie grain handling by $4,981,915, above its previously set “entitlement” of
If you see beekeepers rubbing their heads…
Propolis, which bees use to seal hives, may have another use
Apparently it works on mice, so millions of men may be hoping it works on them too. Scientists writing in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry say the material that honeybees use to seal their hives may promote hair growth. In an ACS release, Ken Kobayashi and colleagues report that propolis,
Ont. to allow land application of greenhouse feedwater
Spent nutrient solutions from Ontario’s commercial greenhouses will be made more easily available to crop growers for land application starting in 2015 under a new provincial regulatory framework. Greenhouse growers in the province are already required by law to safely dispose of the greenhouse nutrient feedwater (GNF) after it’s been used, circulated and reused to
Double-Duty Eggshell-maker
Our History: December 1962
This ad for Double-Duty Eggshell-maker appeared in our December issues in 1962. Readers of a certain age may recall the product also being advertised on radio, with a jingle that went “Cluck, cluck, save a buck… for better eggshells, why trust to luck?” A Dec. 6 story reported that Interlake cattlemen were going to Alberta
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
