Ag News

The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame officially welcomed four inductees Saturday at a ceremony in Toronto as part of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

CAHF President Ted Menzies says this year marks their 60th Anniversary.

The 2022 inductees are Maurice Delage, Mabel Hamilton, Dr. Digvir Jayas and Ashok Sarkar.

Portraits are on display in the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame Gallery located at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Maurice Delage – Agribusiness leader, hybrid canola visionary

A Canadian Grain Commission study confirms a decrease in cadmium concentration in Canadian durum exports.

Cadmium is a  naturally occurring heavy metal that, because of its presence in soil, can be a food contaminant. 

Dr. Sheryl Tittlemier with the CGC says high cadmium levels are a concern as they can lead to various negative health effects if consumers have large exposures to it. 

For this study, Dr. Tittlemier and her team monitored export shipments of Canadian durum wheat for cadmium concentrations from 1992 to 2020. 

Kendall Wicks, is a teacher from Cabri who answered her 2-year-old son's request for a combine story.

"When I went looking for a combine story I couldn't find anything that captured the sort of the experience that he was familiar with and that we were familiar with as a family.  I could find a tractor here, and a tractor there in the odd children's book, but nothing that was the sort of Canadian prairie experience of harvest. So, one night after I tucked him into bed, I went down to my basement and I opened up my laptop and I just started to type."

A new Swine Production Foundations program is being launched at Assiniboine Community College.

The online and self-directed program provides learners with a broad coverage of the industry from stockmanship, to pig health care, breeding, farrowing, nursery, and grow and finish.

The course will also provide an understanding of swine operations, including regulations, health and safety, record keeping, and barn systems and maintenance. 

Last week, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers talked about concerns over delays in grain delivery as prairie elevators hit 85% capacity.

Stats show 2022  marks the third largest crop in Western Canada, with crop yields estimated at 75 million metric tonnes. 

When it comes to grain movement CN moved a record amount of grain in October.

David Przednowek, CN's Assistant Vice President Of Grain says in the month of October CN moved more grain to Port than ever in its history. 

Members of the Clairbank 4-H Club will be busy this week as they mark the 50th Anniversary of the club on Saturday (November 12).

Dianne Retzlaff says over the years the club membership has grown and gotten smaller and grown again.

With that in mind, they are welcoming everyone home this weekend to join in the 50th-anniversary celebration Saturday, November 12th at 3 pm at the Clairbank Community Hall. 

The event will feature a number of displays, some sharing of memories and history of the club with everything wrapping up with a roast beef supper at 5 pm.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau co-chaired the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris last week. 

Agriculture ministers and representatives from about 50 countries agreed to redouble their efforts and implement better practices to feed the growing world population, fight climate change, and ensure that farmers and workers can make a successful living from agricultural production.

Farm Credit Canada's Drive Away Hunger Campaign continues.

Carla Warnyca, FCC's Manager of Community Investment says the program basically brings Canada's agriculture and food industry together to share the food that is produced with those who need it the most. 

Stats show that one in four Canadians will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life. 

Over the years access to agriculture-related mental health support has been growing through organizations like Do More Agriculture (DMAF).

Executive Director Megz Reynolds says we have been as an industry, starting to talk more about mental health and starting to take steps forward with our mental health.

This week delegates from around the world took part in the first Plant Forward conference in Toronto.

The event was organized by Protein Industries Canada, Pulse Canada and Plant-Based Foods of Canada.

Bill Gruel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada says they welcomed 250 delegates, with 11 countries with participants involved in ingredient manufacturing and the creation of plant based foods.