What’s Up – for Apr. 21, 2011

——— Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. April 26:Environmentally Sustainable Food Production: What is the Role for Animal Agriculture? Session with AAFC research scientist Dr. Henry Janzen and a farmer panel, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Carolyn Sifton Lecture Theatre, 130 Agriculture Building, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. For more info or to



Risk-Averse Investors Ignore Weather Signals

Old-crop canola con-t racts on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform took it on the chin during the week ended April 15, suffering larger losses than the new-crop months. The complete lack of buying interest resulted in the nearby May and July canola futures suffering some significant declines. Steady elevator company hedge selling, prompted by

Gardening With Children

Include your children or grandchildren in the gardening plans this year and reap the following rewards: Gardening allows children to witness the miracle of life through the seed. It’s an outdoor activity that allows the whole family to work together. If a child can throw a ball, he/she can toss a potato into a hole.



Argentina Revisits Export Tax Scheme

Argentina may revive a controversial tax system on grain exports, a local newspaper reported April 10, in a move that could raise tensions with farmers in one of the world’s main suppliers of grains. A similar plan to raise taxes on soy exports in 2008 sparked nationwide farmer protests that rattled global commodity markets and


Milk Board Ready To Help

The provincial milk board is poised to help dairy producers whose farms are threatened by rising spring flood waters. Dairy Farmers of Manitoba and the Emergency Measures Organization can help producers temporarily relocate their cows if their farms are at risk, says chairman David Wiens. But moving dairy cows is so stressful for the animals

Dairy Expansions Slow, Quota Shortage Feared

Aslowdown in the consolidation of dairy farms across Canada may create a shortage of quota for producers who want to expand, an industry official warns. The current rate of dairy farm consolidation is about half of what the rate was at the start of the decade. This will put pressure on producers’ ability to expand


It’s Wet Across The West

Snow is still piled deep on Humphrey Banack’s Camrose, Alberta grain farm at a time when he’s usually tuning up his tractor for planting. The wettest fields before planting since the 1970s look to frustrate Canadian farmers’ zeal to sow their fields on time this spring and cash in on wheat and canola prices that

GE Wheat Not On Research Agenda

The National Research Council is ruling out research into genetically engineered wheat as it puts the final touches to a plan to support wheat research across Canada to double yields and improve drought tolerance and disease resistance. Wheat has become the poor cousin to corn, soybeans, canola, pulses and other crops that have attracted a