The Canola Council of Canada is alerting farmers that existing genetic resistance to clubroot may not prove effective in all Alberta fields. Dr. Stephen Strelkov of the University of Alberta led the analyses of several field samples, and data suggests that some forms of clubroot resistance are “no longer functioning well” against the disease in… Read More

It’s worrisome, though not terribly surprising, that Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) announced today confirmed glyphosate resistant kochia biotypes were found in the province. MAFRD jointly conducted a kochia survey across Manitoba in the fall of 2013, in conjunction with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (the Saskatoon Research Centre) and the University of Manitoba,… Read More

To mark Antibiotic Awareness Week,  The Lancet published an editorial last November entitled Antibiotic resistance—the need for global solutions. In it, the twenty-six contributors addressed the need to move on from “blame and shame” and collaborate on the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance. RealAgriculture published an article shortly thereafter to summarize the points made in the editorial, focusing on the… Read More

Former Agriculture and Agri-Food bean breeder Dr. Ali Navabi has been named as the new professor in wheat breeding at the University of Guelph. Dr. Navabi has been acting as a bean breeder in the AAFC/University of Guelph Bean Breeding Program since 2008. “We are proud to see this initiative come to fruition through the… Read More

The Manitoba Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has confirmed a small number of animals being held at a high-traffic site in western Manitoba tested positive for the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. Based on the onset of symptoms and the CVO’s preliminary investigation, a provincial government release says, it is likely the pigs… Read More

CWB has announced the construction of its second high-throughput grain elevator near Colonsay, Saskatchewan. Situated on the Yellowhead Highway approximately 65 kilometers east of Saskatoon, the elevator at Colonsay will feature 42,000 metric tonnes (mT) of storage and is scheduled to open in time for the 2015 harvest, according to CWB. This announcement comes less… Read More

Cigi’s board of directors announced today the retirement of Earl Geddes, chief executive officer (CEO), effective September 8, 2014. Since 2009, Geddes has led Cigi through a challenging period including a transition in marketing from the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly era to an open marketing system for wheat and barley in Western Canada. Also, during… Read More