CWB Confident Japan Sales Will Be OK

Japan will continue to be one of Canada’s best wheat and barley customers, although sales could be disrupted due to the devastation in the wake of that massive earthquake, says Ward Weisensel, the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) chief operating officer. “There are reports out there about Japan not going to consume as much wheat and


Radiation In Japanese Food A Concern

The World Health Organization said on Monday that radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was more serious than previously thought, eclipsing signs of progress in a battle to avert a catastrophic meltdown in its reactors. Engineers managed to rig power cables to all six reactors at the Fukushima complex, 240

Meal In A Can Contains Hulless Oats

Campbell’s Canada’s launch of a new canned meal product containing naked oats is pure vindication for the Interlake farmer who has invested years in promoting the variety as an important new crop. The Canadian food product company recently announced the launch of Nourish, a 425-g completely meal-in-a-can product which, in addition to two servings of


In Brief… – for Mar. 17, 2011

Terminal deal:Richardson International Limited said March 10 it has agreed to buy the North East Terminal grain-handling facility in Wadena, Saskatchewan. The $25-million deal, which also includes crop input facilities at Wadena, Kelvington, Foam Lake and Ponass Lake, Saskatchewan, is expected to close on April 13. The sale hinges on approval by North East shareholders,

Business Risk Management

The importance of planning to be safe on the farm can ever be overemphasized in agriculture. Rural culture is such that for far too long farm families have lived a risky lifestyle, accepting and even celebrating obsessive work habits in the name of staying one step ahead of the weather, saving money or earning more.


Cheap Food Versus Expensive Oil

You can’t have cheap food and expensive oil. It just doesn’t work. For hundreds of millions of people who earn only a dollar or two a day, increasing prices for staple foods like grains, pulses, rice and cooking oil is a big deal. Canadians spend only about 11 per cent of their disposable income on

Farmers Worry About Budget Cuts To Agriculture

Prairie farm organizations fear major cuts to agriculture spending in the upcoming federal budget. A projected $418.6-million decrease in net Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spending for the coming year has farm groups worried the March 22 budget will contain bad news for western Canadian farmers. “It’s the wrong time to be backing away from agriculture


Federal Funds For Potato Exports

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz presented $743,000 to the Canadian Horticulture Council last week to help it find new international markets for top-quality Canadian spuds. He said demand for Canadian potatoes is surging and the growers want to make the most of the opportunity that’s been presented them. The funding is modelled after assistance the minister

Chronic Food Deficit In N. Korea — UN

Impoverished North Korea faces a chronic food shortage following a harsh winter which has affected its harvest, a United Nations official said March 11. Years of mismanaged farm policy and natural disasters in the 1990s resulted in famine that some estimates said killed as many as a million people. “We know that they have had