Canada lagging in ag research

Canadian agriculture is being shortchanged by governments when it comes to basic research compared to other countries, according to John Cranfield of the University of Guelph. “We are standing still while other countries are getting ahead of us,” said Cranfield, citing statistics from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The professor, an agricultural economist,

Death knell may sound for Canada’s GMO pigs

Without fresh funding, the animals will be euthanized 
and their genetic material put into cold storage

Pigs that might have become the world’s first genetically modified animals approved for human consumption may instead face an untimely end, as key backers of Canada’s “Enviropig” project withdrew their support for the controversial engineered animal. Scientists at the University of Guelph, 90 km west of Toronto, bred the first GMO pig that was developed


Cigi being wooed to move to Saskatoon

Fears that scrapping the monopoly-powered wheat board could undermine Winnipeg’s grain sector hegemony were bolstered with news Saskatoon wants Cigi (Canadian International Grains Institute) to move there. The offer came Nov. 29 during a meeting with Saskatoon economic development group representatives, Rex Newkirk, Cigi’s director of research and business development said in an interview March

New products must pass the “smell” test

Jeff Schoenau gets a variation of the same questions several times a year — on the phone, over coffee, via email or somewhere on the winter meeting circuit. “They basically all want to know, ‘What do you think of product XYZ?’” the University of Saskatchewan soil fertility specialist says. That can be a tough question


Monitor open market, Goodale says

The new open wheat and barley market promised for western Canadian farmers starting Aug. 1 should be monitored by an independent institution so the findings can help guide future policies, says Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale. “Unless you start working on this right now from the beginning and follow it through from Day 1 you

Corral water after in-field feeding

In-field winter feeding can save time and money, while fostering healthy crop and forage growth, according to Jeff Schoenau of the University of Saskatchewan. Schoenau and colleagues at the university’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources conducted a three-year study following the effects of in-field winter feeding on animal and pasture health, as well as on



Corral water after in-field feeding

In-field winter feeding can save time and money, while fostering healthy crop and forage growth, according to Jeff Schoenau of the University of Saskatchewan. Schoenau and colleagues at the university’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources conducted a three-year study following the effects of in-field winter feeding on animal and pasture health, as well as on


New Science Chair To Encourage Women

Asoil scientist from the University of Manitoba has been named the Prairie region s new Chair for Women in Science and Engineering by the National Sciences and Engineer ing Research Council (NSERC). Annemieke Farenhorst will receive a total of $1.4 million over the next five years from NSERC and the additional funding partners: Manitoba Pork

Ending CWB Monopoly Brings Big Changes

Next August 1 ushers in what is arguably the most radical policy shift in Western Canada s grain industry since the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly was created nearly 69 years ago. Western wheat, durum and barley farmers will have marketing freedom. What then? Farmers and the industry are divided over whether it will usher in