Beekeepers ask courts to ban controversial pesticides

U.S. environmental regulators are failing to protect honeybees and should immediately suspend use of some toxic insecticides tied to the widespread deaths of bees, charges a new lawsuit. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” said migratory beekeeper Steve Ellis, who maintains 2,000 hives for pollinating crops from Minnesota to California. “We have an ongoing problem

The rains caused economic pain in England

Wheat production will plummet while livestock producers are being hammered by the 
sky-high cost of 
imported feed

Reuters / Last year’s record rains will squeeze Britain’s farmers well into 2014 and force makers of bread and biofuels to buy more costly imports. Production of wheat is set to fall to its lowest level in more than a decade this summer, forcing purchases of bread-quality grain from Europe and North America. Livestock farmers



Winter wheat a money-making crop

High potential yields, good prices and relatively low production costs 
have a growing number of farmers interested in winter wheat

It will be a month or so yet before Manitoba farmers get a peek at the winter wheat crop that lies beneath this winter’s heavily insulated snow blanket. Manitoba farmers seeded an estimated 560,000 acres of winter wheat under less-than-ideal, dry conditions last fall, but at least it’s well insulated with lots of snow. “I





2012 was a year of clear results: CCC president

Canadian athlete and competitive rower Marnie McBean told last week’s Canola Council of Canada convention delegates that being a true champion means continuously pursuing improvement, even when you’re already at your best. The three-time-gold Olympian and epitome of focus and unflinching drive was just 24 when she and teammate Kathleen Heddle first rowed to a

Winter Cereals Canada understands rationale for crop insurance changes

It turns out MASC has been paying out a lot more on winter wheat claims than it has been collecting in premiums

Growers weren’t happy about changes to the crop insurance program for winter wheat outlined at their recent annual meeting, but they had to acknowledge that some changes were justified. In 2014, Manitoba farmers will still be eligible for a reseeding benefit based on 25 per cent of their coverage if their winter wheat fails before


Policy shift needed to tap Africa’s farm potential

Reuters / Africa’s agricultural sector could become a $1-trillion industry by 2030 if governments and the private sector radically rethink policies and support for farmers, a World Bank report said March 4. Africa’s food market, currently valued at $313 billion a year, could triple if farmers modernized their practices and had better access to credit,

Argentina threatens barley export cap in bid to boost wheat crop

Grains behemoth Argentina is pushing farmers to produce more wheat by threatening to crack down on the fast-expanding barley sector, which growers are using as a hedge against export curbs, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. With national inflation seen by private economists at 30 per cent this year and global food