Cancer Cause Or Crop Aid? Glyphosate Faces Big Test

Critics say it’s a chemical that could cause infertility or cancer, while others see it speeding the growth of super weeds and causing worrying changes to plants and soil. Backers say it is safe and has made a big contribution to food production. It’s glyphosate, the key – but controversial – ingredient in Roundup herbicide

In Brief… – for Apr. 7, 2011

Japan to import 5.11 mln tonnes wheat:Japan plans to buy 5.11 million tonnes of foreign milling wheat in the year to March 2012 to supplement locally grown grain, the Ministry of Agriculture said last week. Japan, the world’s fourth-biggest wheat importer, buys wheat to supplement locally grown grain and keeps a tight grip on bulk


ADM Licenses Canadian Firm’s Soy Protein Product

A soy protein product made by Canadian plant protein firm Burcon NutraScience will go to world markets by way of agri-food giant Archer Daniels Midland. Illinois-based ADM has signed on to a 20-year licensing deal with Burcon for worldwide production, distribution and sale of Burcon’s Clarisoy, billed as a 100 per cent soluble, transparent protein

Rogers/MTS Shared Tower Goes Live March 31

Rural residents frustrated with turtle-slow dial-up Internet service may have some new options by March 31. That’s because Netco, a new joint venture between competing telecom giants Rogers and MTS, will flip the switch province-wide on a new service called HSPA+, which stands for High Speed Packet Access. Months in the making, the tower-shar ing

In Brief… – for Mar. 10, 2011

Cash for clunkers:Russia will spend an extra four billion rubles from this year’s budget to subsidize farm equipment leasing and may look into a “cash for clunkers” scheme to boost tractor purchases, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said. “I hope it will help reap a good harvest and stabilize the situation with food prices,” he told


Biofuels Here To Stay

Biofuels represent the only way to significantly reduce carbon emissions in road transport fuel and are likely to account for at least 12 per cent of supply by 2030, an official with oil giant BP said March 2. “There is no other alternative that I can really subscribe to in terms of decarbonizing road transport,”

Cellulosic Ethanol Another Income Stream For Corn Farmers

Cellulosic ethanol production using corn stover as the feedstock is going commercial, but over the short term it won’t make any more grain corn available for human or livestock use, according to Kyle Althoff. It will however, provide additional returns to farmers in the form of stover payments and potential agronomic benefits. “We don’t see

KAP Willing To Continue Paying For RR1 Soybeans

Manitoba farmers have expressed willingness to continue paying Monsanto to grow Roundup Ready soybeans even after the patent on them expires. A resolution passed at the recent Keystone Agricultural Producers annual meeting in Winnipeg calls on KAP to “lobby Monsanto to allow Manitoba farmers to continue to grow Roundup Ready 1 soybeans under a user


Maple Leaf Gives West Face CEO A Seat On Board

Maple Leaf Foods appointed the head of investment fund West Face Capital to its board Feb. 3, bringing in a leading activist shareholder who has been critical of corporate governance at the Canadian food processor. West Face chief executive Gregory Boland joins the board six months after the Torontobased investment fund took a stake in

Getting Local Food Into Cafeterias

AManitoba project is looking for ways to get more locally grown foods served in institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals and other places where cafeterias potentially feed thousands of people on a daily basis. Over the past year, the Manitoba Farm to Cafeteria project has been exploring how to seize the market opportunities these larger