Farming groups applaud private member’s bill aimed at speeding up product approvals

OTTAWA - Canadian agriculture groups are applauding a Conservative private member's bill that would allow Canada to rely on scientific reviews of new products conducted in "trusted" countries to speed up approvals of the products here.

Conservative MP David Bexte introduced Bill C-273 on Tuesday, saying farmers in Canada can wait years to get access to products that places like New Zealand, the European Union and the United States already have approved and used safely for years.

"In some cases, these products never come to Canada," he said at a news conference outside the House of Commons.

The bill would allow Canada to give provisional approval to feeds, fertilizers, seeds and pest control products within 90 days of an application if the product has already been approved in at least two "trusted" jurisdictions.

Wooden elevator reduced to rubble after towering over Austin for 75 years

With the demolition of the wooden grain elevator in Austin, a community about 130 kilometres west of Winnipeg, the Manitoba Historical Society estimates there are only 114 such structures remaining in the province.

Could more cattle cause record beef prices to drop? Ranchers say it’s not that simple

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — It’s never been so expensive for Americans to buy a steak or hamburger, but cutting those costs requires ranchers like Stephanie Hatzenbuhler to raise more cattle — and that's not an easy ask.

For a host of reasons, Hatzenbuhler and other ranchers across the country are reluctant to grow the national herd — now its smallest in more than 75 years — and until they do so, demand will outweigh supply, and beef prices will likely remain high.

Adding cattle makes sense for some ranchers, but others are struggling to stay afloat with the cattle they have, Hatzenbuhler said.

“They’re good times, and they’re bad times,” she said. “It’s a combination of both.”

Aurora Cannabis Inc. buys Safari Flower Co. in $26.5M deal

EDMONTON - Aurora Cannabis Inc. has bought Safari Flower Co. in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $26.5 million.

The acquisition includes a $2-million cash payment that is contingent on satisfaction of certain conditions.

Aurora says Safari Flower has an EU GMP certified indoor cultivation and manufacturing facility in Ontario.

It says the deal that will increase its capacity to supply key international markets, including Germany, Australia, Poland, and the United Kingdom, and support further market expansion.

‘Long overdue’: Prairie farmers welcome renewal of poison to target pesky gophers

Prairie farmers say a move by Ottawa to temporarily lift a ban on a rodent poison is a good start to address rampant gopher populations that have decimated crops and injured livestock. 

"I suspect maybe if the Bible had been written in Saskatchewan, it wouldn't have been locusts. It would have been gophers," Jeremy Welter, a farmer near Kerrobert, Sask., said Tuesday. 

"I think (lifting the ban) is one of those things that is long overdue."

On Monday, federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced producers can again start using two per cent liquid strychnine until November 2027 to control gophers, also known as Richardson's ground squirrels. 

Ottawa allows temporary use of gopher poison in Alberta, Saskatchewan

OTTAWA - Ottawa is temporarily allowing the return of the rodent poison strychnine in Alberta and Saskatchewan as those provinces grapple with gopher infestations.

A statement from the federal ministers of health and agriculture says allowing its use will help farmers address damage caused by Richardson's ground squirrels.

The federal government banned strychnine in 2024 as it posed risks to other wildlife that consume poisoned carcasses.

The Prairie provinces have recently pushed Health Canada to reconsider, arguing gophers are threatening crops and causing millions of dollars' worth of damage.

Nutri Group rebrands as Lovo; Steinbach division renos continue

A Quebec-based egg grader and processor with a division in Manitoba has launched a new brand identity and is investing millions of dollars into its operation in Steinbach.

Nutri Group will now be known as Lovo. Leadership at the 39-year-old company revealed the new name to stakeholders earlier this week, and they are announcing the change publicly today.

The new name is derived from “love” and “ovo,” the Latin word for egg. It’s meant to be upbeat and focus on “the sunny side of life,” said Sébastien Léveillé, the company’s chief executive. The new brand includes updated packaging Léveillé hopes will catch consumers’ eyes in the supermarket.

“The egg section in grocery stores is pretty beige and there’s (been) no upgrade in this section for years,” he said.

Average Canadian farmland values soar again, but uplift uneven across country

Agricultural land prices in Canada continued to climb last year, but some regions saw more of an increase than others, says a new report by Farm Credit Canada.

Canadian farmland values rose an average of 9.3 per cent in 2025, extending a more than three-decade upward trend, said the federal Crown corporation.

Last year's climb was on par with 2024, but slower than the 11.5 per cent jump the sector saw in 2023.

"Over the past year, the Canadian farmland market remained resilient, defying expectations as producers continued to expand their land base and make strategic acquisitions, supporting values across cultivated land, irrigated land and pastureland nationwide," FCC said in the report.

Cattle producers push back as N.B. moves to end provincially run veterinary care

FREDERICTON - A group representing cattle farmers in New Brunswick say it takes issue with the province's plan to axe government-run veterinary services.

The New Brunswick Cattle Producers Association says Premier Susan Holt's Liberal government is taking a critical service for farmers and using it as a cost-cutting measure.

It says it will survey members and report back to the province on alternative paths forward.

The Holt government announced in its budget it would phase out provincially run field veterinary and laboratory services over three years, handing off animal medical care to private providers.

Ducks Unlimited provides $1-M pasture for farming research

A Manitoba farming research non-profit will have more space to let cattle roam and graze on prairie grasslands — and study how that foraging affects biodiversity — through a partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Price shocks from Iran war could give Canada leverage in CUSMA talks: experts

WASHINGTON - Countries around the world are grappling with skyrocketing costs for key commodities like oil and fertilizer as the war with Iran continues to upend global trade.

With no end in sight, the war is likely to cast a shadow over trade negotiations ahead of the mandatory review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade — and could ultimately offer Canada more leverage in those talks.

"If you're sitting in Washington and you're seeing what's happening to global markets, you're going to be looking at your secure producers and suppliers perhaps slightly differently from the way you … might've been looking at them before the conflict began, which was solely in tariff terms,” said Fen Osler Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University in Ottawa and co-chair of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations.

Crude oil and natural gas prices shot up after Iran essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the United States-Israel bombing campaign.