The next meeting of federal and provincial agriculture ministers from across Canada will have a new longest-serving minister at the table. Lana Popham was shuffled out of her agriculture post, as B.C.’s provincial cabinet under new premier David Eby was announced and sworn in on Wednesday. Popham, who had served as B.C.’s ag minister since… Read More
Author: Kelvin Heppner
Kelvin Heppner, field editor for RealAgriculture, has been reporting on Canadian agriculture since 2008(ish). When he's not working on a story, he's usually in a chicken barn or a field, as he also farms with his family near Altona, Manitoba.
The potential loss of access to an insecticide used to manage flea beetle populations poses a challenge for canola production in Western Canada in 2023. Syngenta and ADAMA Canada have recalled insecticide products containing lambda-cyhalothrin, under the trade names Matador and Silencer, from their distribution channels in Western Canada, following a decision by the Pest… Read More
Plans have been unveiled for another major soybean crush plant to be built in North Dakota. Epitome Energy LLC has announced the construction of a US$400 million facility on the north side of Grand Forks, North Dakota — approximately 120 km (75 miles) south of Emerson, Manitoba. It marks the third — and most northerly… Read More
From starting out in a community hall in Carseland, Alberta, in 1977 to successfully achieving an original goal of ending the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly 35 years later, the history of the Western Barley Growers Association is documented in a new book entitled Western Barley’s Legacy. “We wanted to document the history of our association… Read More
Update, as of November 28: At least 28 commercial farm flocks have now tested posted for avian influenza in the Fraser Valley area of BC between November 16 and November 27, including five new cases on November 27. The number of cases of avian influenza (AI) in B.C. has risen rapidly over the past week… Read More
The association that represents farm equipment dealers across Canada is speaking out against a “right-to-repair” private member’s bill that would amend the Copyright Act to allow Canadians to circumvent computer software to diagnose, maintain, or repair a product, whether that’s a phone, a household appliance, a car, or a tractor. Bill C-244 — introduced by… Read More
The federal government’s requirement that a certain amount of the research to be funded under the next five-year agricultural policy framework must focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is creating new complications for commodity groups applying for the funding. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has introduced new emissions- and climate-related criteria in the latest iteration… Read More
The private member’s bill that would exempt natural gas and propane used on farms for drying grain and heating barns from the federal carbon tax was approved, with amendments, by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food on Monday. Bill C-234, originally introduced by Ontario Conservative MP Ben Lobb in February of… Read More
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government has ditched part of the provincial cosmetic pesticide ban that was implemented in 2014. Bill 22, passed late Thursday, allows the use of Health Canada-registered pesticides on lawns, boulevards, sidewalks, right-of-ways and fairgrounds. At the same time, it expands the list of sensitive areas where pesticides cannot be used, which now… Read More
Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation says he has a list of “good stuff that isn’t finished yet” that he’s planning to tackle following his reappointment to the agriculture post in cabinet by new Premier Danielle Smith. Nate Horner was originally tapped to serve as the province’s agriculture minister by Smith’s predecessor Jason Kenney in… Read More
Higher yields are always a top priority for plant breeders developing new crop varieties, but yield itself is the result of a combination of different factors, including resistance to disease threats, maturity timing, and harvestability. These characteristics are all taken into consideration when screening and developing new edible bean varieties, explains Anfu Hou, bean breeder… Read More
The highly-pathogenic avian influenza (AI) virus that has swept North America in 2022 will likely remain a threat in 2023, but there have been some lessons learned in the past seven months by producers, veterinarians, and poultry industry stakeholders when it comes to responding to the often-devastating disease. As of October 17, the Canadian Food… Read More
New Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre unveiled his shadow cabinet on Wednesday. As expected, John Barlow (Foothills, Alberta, pictured above) has been tapped to continue in his role as shadow minister for agriculture, agri-food and food security. Barlow is well-versed with the role and agriculture-related issues, having served as the party’s ag critic… Read More
Cover cropping — and then planting into that green cover crop in spring — has become more common in pockets of the U.S. and Canada over the past decade, but the adoption rate has tended to be slower in more northern areas with short or dry fall seasons. These also happen to be areas where… Read More
CN Rail says a bridge fire in northwestern Alberta is expected to shut down rail traffic in and out of the Grande Prairie area for an unknown amount of time. The fire occurred at a large bridge on the Grand Cache subdivision near Latornell, Alta. early in the morning on Wednesday, October 5, affecting traffic… Read More