Battle of the beta-agonists

One of North America’s largest beef buyers is telling feeders that it wants a little more fat and a little less lean, and is delivering a not-so-subtle hint on their choice of growth promotants to achieve it. “Maximizing performance and efficiencies pre-harvest at the expense of beef taste and tenderness concerns us — it’s not

Rising canola futures find point of resistance

Canola futures on the ICE Futures Canada trading platform moved higher during the week ended March 16. Concerns about the record pace of usage and the resulting depletion of old-crop canola stocks stimulated some of the upward price action. Chart-related speculative fund buying interest also contributed to the price advances. Much of that buying was


Make time for tea

Throughout its 5,000-year history, drinking tea has been a relaxing, social ritual. In fact, tea is the second most popular beverage in the world next to water. Non-herbal tea is derived from the Camellia senensis plant and tea is one of the leading sources of flavonoids, which are antioxidant compounds that may fight chronic disease.

Recipe Swap: Slow cooker ideal for spring

Slow cooker ideal for spring The Manitoba Turkey Producers and Granny’s Poultry Co-operative have published a brand new glossy magazine Great Taste Healthy Living this month that aims to get you eating more turkey more often. It’s also a great guide for using a slow cooker to make easy meals in minutes. Great Taste Healthy


Alta. economist urges Australian-style beef grading

Canadian beef producers and retailers could add value to their product by moving to a “more consistent” beef-grading system, a University of Alberta economist suggests. Canada’s current beef-grading system, in which carcasses are visually inspected and meat labelled accordingly, “cannot provide the same quality assurance as the more extensive (Meat Standards Australia, or MSA) system,”

Farmers fear consolidation, not foreigners, in Viterra bid

Reuters / For most of the past year, western Canadian farmers have braced for the rush of competition that will follow the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s 69-year-long monopoly on grain marketing in August. Now, they’re preparing for the possibility of seeing less than expected. The fertile region’s biggest grain handler, Viterra, said March


Latest Ag Canada forecast ups 2012-13 grain and oilseed production

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has slightly increased its production estimates for the major grains and oilseeds for the upcoming crop year, which starts in August. The latest estimates from its market analysis division pegs total production at 70.320 million tonnes, up slightly from its February forecast of 70.120 million tonnes and 2011-12 production of 65.856

FNA gets into cash advance administration

Ontario’s ACC wants to expand in the West, but only into crops that aren’t covered now, says Jaye Atkins

Farmers taking out cash advances on their crops this year will see some changes in who is administering the programs. As the Canadian Canola Growers Association expands its administration to take over the crops formerly handled by the Canadian Wheat Board, a new player has emerged to manage the program for several commodities in Ontario


Tax credits rise on wheat, barley

Staff / Wheat and barley growers whose money stayed in the Western Grains Research Foundation’s checkoff fund during 2011 can expect a relatively larger tax credit for their buck. Prairie growers — other than Alberta barley growers, who pay into a different checkoff fund — will see their WGRF checkoff money eligible for federal Scientific

Decadent ice cream saves the day for General Mills

chicago/reuters / General Mills Inc.’s mix of foods and its limited exposure to Italy and Greece have insulated it a bit from Europe’s economic crisis, one of the company’s top executives said March 14. The maker of Cheerios and other cereals has seen some European shoppers buy more items when they are discounted, or trade