It’s quite rare for farmers to be front and centre in mainstream media. Still more rare is to see a speech made in the late 70s start trending on Twitter during the Super Bowl, but that’s exactly what happened. While the game wound down and the 49’ers very nearly made a comeback, you’d think Twitter… Read More
As we’ve covered here on RealAgriculture.com before, the Ontario government announced last year that it would end the Slots at Racetrack program as of March 31, 2013. The partnership had allowed Ontario Lottery and Gaming (OLG) to house its VLTs at racetracks throughout the province, and the tracks were given a 20% stake in the… Read More
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast today announced the Government of Canada has reached an agreement with Japan to expand market access to Canadian beef from animals under 30 months of age (UTM). This is an improvement over the current requirement which only permits beef exports from animals under 21 months… Read More
JANA Partners LLC, an investment group holding just over 6% of Agrium’s shares, is rallying Agrium’s other stockholders in an effort to put serious pressure on the company to change the way it operates. In an interesting turn, Jana has devoted an entire website to its cause — see it here — and has gone… Read More
Saskatchewan forage industry members will work together to develop and implement a strategy to improve the sector’s competitiveness and to ensure its long-term prosperity with the help of federal government funding announced this week. Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was on hand this week to announce a $148,000 investment to help the Saskatchewan Forage Council… Read More
Last week, Dow AgroSciences announced that the launch of its corn lines carrying the Enlist trait would not be available for planting in 2013 in the U.S., as the U.S. regulatory approvals have not been obtained for the trait in corn, nor has the herbicide Enlist Duo received approval. The company is confident approvals will… Read More
Cargill has announced that they will be shutting down its Plainview, Texas Cattle slaughter plant. Cargill cited a shrinking cattle supply as one of the reasons for the decision. Is this a big surprise, not really in terms of the excess capacity that is in North America. For Canada, the near term impact is a… Read More
China has approved four additional Canadian beef facilities that will now be able to export beef to China, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast announced today. The newly approved establishments will increase the Canadian export capacity for beef in a market estimated by the industry to be worth approximately $20 million… Read More
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart have announced $6.5 million in funding for 38 crop-related research projects. Ritz says the research is focused on making “Saskatchewan farmers more productive and profitable.” “Saskatchewan has a reputation as a leader in crop production and research and these new projects will help to… Read More
JBS USA, a subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., has announced it is moving forward with purchasing XL Foods’s Canadian operations. JBS took over management of the Brooks-based plant in late October after E. coli contamination shut down operations at the plant. JBS, upon exercising this option, anticipates the purchase of XL Foods to be completed… Read More
The last time a novel biotech trait event for Western Canada was rolled out, the Winnipeg Jets were headed to Phoenix, Arizona, much to the sadness of many a Winnipegger. But now, it’s 2013 and the Jets are set to play once again after a long delay (thanks, lockout!), and a brand new herbicide resistance… Read More
The Canadian Grain Commission recently released a summary of the feedback it received regarding impending changes to its user fee system. Industry stakeholders, including farmers, were asked to submit their questions, critiques and suggestions for changes to the not only the user fees, but also changes to the Canada Grains Act. Generally, there seems to… Read More
The governments of Canada and Ontario are making a joint investment to help farmers adopt innovative and sustainable on-farm water management practices. That’s according to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ted McMeekin who jointly announced a new initiative that will focus on finding new technologies and solutions… Read More
To the surprise of likely very few, the year’s top post on RealAgriculture.com is one full of fun and frivolity. The Peterson Brothers’ parody of Psy’s “Gangham Style” went viral shortly after it was released and currently has 11 million views on YouTube. Of course, we’re not all about fun and games, and the Top… Read More
To the surprise of likely very few, the year’s top post on RealAgriculture.com is one full of fun and frivolity. The Peterson Brothers’ parody of Psy’s “Gangham Style” went viral shortly after it was released and currently has 11 million views on YouTube. Of course, we’re not all about fun and games, and the Top… Read More
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