Canary seed isn’t just for the birds anymore. It was approved for human consumption by Health Canada in 2016 and while few are feasting on it yet, it represents a market opportunity for Canadian growers, who produce 65 per cent of global canary seed. Elsayed Abdelaal, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)’s Guelph Research and
Canary seed sees human opportunities
From food to cosmetics, approval for human use is important for this crop
Ontario ponies up for two decades of horseracing
The Ontario government has put its next funding plan for the province’s horseracing sector on a substantially longer track. The provincial government on Friday announced a funding agreement providing the sector with $105 million a year for 19 years starting April 1, 2019, to replace the five-year, $100 million-per-year Horse Racing Partnership Funding Program in
Ontario power utilities offer farm water pump rebate
Ontario farmers buying certain types of high-efficiency water pumping systems for irrigation, horticulture or stock watering could now be up for rebates. Hydro One and Niagara Peninsula Energy (NPEI) on Friday announced the AgriPump rebate program, which the two electricity utilities described as the first plan of its kind in the province. For farmer customers
Alberta names new deputy ag minister
Alberta’s deputy provincial environment minister, a civil engineer and 28-year veteran of the Canadian Forces, has been named the province’s new top agriculture bureaucrat. Premier Rachel Notley on Tuesday put through an order in council appointing Andre Corbould as Alberta’s deputy minister of agriculture and forestry effective Wednesday, replacing Beverly Yee. Corbould, the province’s deputy
‘Clean’ tech adoption up for federal funding
Provinces and territories can apply starting April 1 for chunks of a three-year, $25 million federal fund to support programs that encourage on-farm adoption of precision ag tools or use of renewables from ag waste. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Monday launched the fund, to flow through what’s dubbed the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT)
Cargill selling Ontario grain, inputs businesses
Quebec agrifood co-operative La Coop federee is set to stake a larger claim in Ontario’s grain and crop input sector with a deal for Cargill’s assets there. Cargill’s Winnipeg-based Canadian arm announced Thursday it will sell its Ontario grain and crop input outlets and its joint-venture stake in South West Ag Partners to La Coop
Pierson couple 2018 Outstanding Young Farmers
They’ll move on to the national competition this fall in Winnipeg
A Pierson-area farm couple are Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2018. Brooks and Jen White, of Borderland Agriculture, took over the family grain farm and bison ranch in 2012. It’s so named because the southern boundary of the operation nestles along the U.S. border and the western fringe creeps into Saskatchewan. The couple’s vision for
‘Operation LIFT’ to lower wheat surplus
Our History: March 1970
This ad from our March 13, 1970 issue advised producers that they would receive information on how to participate in Operation LIFT (Lower inventories for tomorrow) for the next season. The quota for the current year was announced to be no higher than four bushels per acre. With Canada sitting on almost a three-year wheat
PHOTOS: Fish derby helps promote lake health
Pelican Lake attracted hundreds in early March for the event
A total of 885 fishermen and women registered for the Healthy Lake Committee ice fishing derby March 3 on Pelican Lake, near Ninette. The organization works to ensure a lake clear of algae and healthy fish stocks, mainly through the installation of an aeration system that keeps the bottom of the lake clear of sediments,
Canola Growers kick-starts cash advance program
Earlier applications, better service and lower costs on offer this year
The Canadian Canola Growers Association is reminding farmers 2018-19 cash advance applications are now available. CCGA says it’s giving farmers a jump-start on spring with the group’s earliest-ever pre-application period and a reduced administration fee for its Advance Payments Program. “Many farmers take advantage of an intended seeded advance, which provides them with cash flow