Time To Stop Embracing Change

The good old days weren’t always so good if you were an elevator manager, or especially an elevator manager’s assistant. You had to be pretty handy with a shovel when you were loading a boxcar. Then you had to “cooper” those cars before shipment, sealing the doors with kraft paper and wooden or metal “grain

USDA Issues Draft Plan

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a draft proposal to again allow farmers to grow Monsanto Co.’s genetically modified sugar beets. A U.S. district court in California has ruled that the sugar beets cannot be produced until the USDA issues a full environmental impact study, which the department does not expect to complete until


USDA Issues Draft Plan Allowing GM Sugar Beets

The U.S. Depar tment of Agriculture issued a draft proposal on Nov. 2 to again allow farmers to grow Monsanto’s genetically modified sugar beets, which are fiercely opposed by environmentalists. A U.S. district court in California has ruled that the sugar beets cannot be produced until the USDA issues a full environmental impact study, which

U. S. Court Relaxes Limits On Roundup Ready Alfalfa

“We’re waiting to hear what they’re going to decide.” – TRISH JORDAN, MONSANTO CANADA Both sides are claiming victory after the U. S. Supreme Court last week overturned a lower court ruling which imposed a ban on Roundup Ready alfalfa. The court ruled a district court judge in San Francisco overstepped his authority in preventing


CWB Survey Says Farmers Want Control

“The message from farmers is crystal clear: they want to be firmly in charge of their marketing organization and call the shots on its future.” – ALLEN OBERG The majority of western Canadian farmers believe they should be the ones deciding the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, according to the board’s annual producer survey.

TB Testing Blamed For Herd Health Decline

The verdant Birdtail River Valley, just south of Riding Mountain National Park, looks every bit like a rancher’s paradise. Hillsides covered with tall, straight poplar and spruce trees shelter farmhouses and outbuildings dotting the lowlands, which are separated by neatly fenced pastures filled with lush green grass. But the ranchers who have made these hills


Regulatory Oversight Inadequate

Fourteen years after commercialization of the world’s first biotech crop, the U. S. regulatory agencies charged with overseeing biotech crops – USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U. S. Food and Drug Administration – are under attack on several fronts. The USDA is most directly in the line of fire after a string of

“Nice Guy” Takes On “Activist” Groups

When anti-pesticide groups show up to speak at public meetings, Jeffery Lowes urges all councillors and officials to arm themselves accordingly. “Cover your ass,” said Lowes, director of governmental and industry relations for M-REP Communications, a PR firm that he founded based in Kingston, Ontario. “The second an activist steps into your jurisdiction and wants


FCWB Appealing Voters’ List Ruling

Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) is appealing a Federal Court decision upholding changes to the CWB’s voters’ list made by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz in 2008. The coalition of farmers and others in support of the CWB contend Justice James Russell erred on two points in Winnipeg Jan. 29, said FCWB spokesman and

Herd Cutbacks Eat Into Ridley’s Q2

Winnipeg feed maker Ridley Inc. reports higher profit in the last three months of 2009, even as its feed sales drop due to cutbacks in Canada’s livestock herds. The company reported net earnings of $5 million on gross revenue of $150 million for its second quarter ending Dec. 31, down from $700,000 on $163.6 million