Researchers study how to breed queen bees in Canada

Every spring, Canadian beekeepers deal with the same unpleasant problem. A percentage of their hives fail to survive the winter — possibly 20 to 40 per cent — so they import queen bees and small nucleus colonies from New Zealand, Australia or Hawaii to replace them. Bee experts from British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec believe there’s another solution to this problem: raise queen bees in Canada and keep them over the winter. Leonard Foster, a University of British Columbia professor in biochemistry and molecular biology, is leading a $4.5 million project that will study ways to produce queen bees and nucleus colonies in Canada. “This funding will support a co-ordinated effort across B.C., Alberta and Quebec to test various overwintering strategies … to arrive at best practices depending on which region of Canada you are in,” Foster said in a UBC release. The project is funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Coun

Prospect of deal with Indonesia promising for agri-food sector

When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Indonesia counterpart President Prabowo Subianto announced the conclusion of negotiations for a free trade agreement agrifood producers were delighted. Greg Northey, President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) said they have supported Canada’s efforts to reach agreement on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia. “With its population of some 275 million people and growing middle class, we see strong opportunities for growth in agri-food exports to this key market,” Northey said. Indonesia imported a total of $37.9 billion worth agri-food and seafood products in 2023. Canada was Indonesia’s eighth largest supplier of agri-food and seafood products in 2023, importing $1.6 billion in 2023, accounting for 4.3 per cent of the market. CAFTA Executive Director Michael Harvey said an agreement would benefit many sectors. “Though we still need to see the exact details of the agreement to have a full pict

High protein content in the Canadian wheat crop

Canadian farmers grew a very good wheat crop this year. That information was shared in the New Wheat Crop Report released by Cereals Canada today. The 2024 report provides a quality and functionality update and highlights Canadian wheat production, according to Dean Dias, chief executive officer at Cereals Canada. “In the 2024-25 crop year, Canada is expected to export 25.4 million tonnes of wheat to over 80 countries, with the quality and protein content that customers expect,” Dias said. “This will make Canada the world’s third largest exporter of wheat, and the top exporter of high quality, high protein wheat, for the second year in a row.” In a season that started with ample precipitation in Western Canada, Canadian farmers grew nearly 34.3 million tonnes of high-quality wheat. Yields exceeded expectations, leading to a four per cent increase in non-durum wheat production and an eight per cent increase in durum wheat production. Quality was excellent for all classes with a high

Bringing the international perspective to Ontario

LRIC’s International Research Advisory Committee (IRAC) gathered in Guelph for two days of meetings on September 25 and 26. This was my first in-person IRAC meeting and I was struck with the vast experience and breadth of knowledge the committee members brought with them.  A

Reducing your farm's cybersecurity risks

High profile cyberattacks are increasingly making headlines in Canada as criminals target retailers, municipalities, health care providers and critical infrastructure.