Joe Dales's Blog – February 2010 Archive (2)

$7 Million to Grow Canada’s Agriculture Tech Sector

Smarter production is the goal of the HARVEST agri-tech accelerator that’s investing in cleantech and agricultural companies to help them scale up their businesses and strengthen the country’s economy and supply chains. Nine start-ups from coast to coast will receive an investment of up to $750,000 and critical business mentorship from Ontario Genomics, Genome Alberta and Genome Prairie to bring their products and production methods to industrial commercial scale, as soon as possible. Thanks to up to $7 million of funding through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s ACT Accelerator, HARVEST is sustainably diversifying Canada’s economy by helping these innovative companies get their game-changing solutions to market here and overseas: ABAzyne Bioscience (Saskatoon, SK) is modernizing cold-weather crop protection with a bio-spray for grapes and other tender fruit. ALT TEX (Toronto, ON) is transforming food waste into biodegradable fabrics for the fashion industry. B.Nature Biotech (Sa

Ontario Plowmen's Association Vows to Keep 2027 International Plowing Match in Lambton County on Track

The Ontario Plowmen's Association says it is working to maintain partnerships, address concerns, and keep planning efforts moving forward following reports that the local volunteer committee has withdrawn from hosting duties.

Cdn. beef sector receives $4 million from Ottawa

Additional markets for Canadian beef and veal is the goal of federal funding distributed to the livestock sector

Rigas Karamanos Wins Les Henry Award

Dr. Rigas Karamanos has been named the 2025 Les Henry Award recipient for his long-standing contributions to soil science, agronomy research, and agricultural education in Western Canada.

Farmers receive less of the food dollar: study

Farmers continue to receive less of the food dollar, even as consumers pay more for their groceries, says the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan. Its latest Farmers and Food Prices Report indicates the trend has not changed much since the organization began analyzing six products in 2021-22. “Our data continues to show a consistent story,” said president Bill Prybylski. “Food prices are rising, but the farmer’s share is actually shrinking.” The report, which was released in June for 2024-25, actually showed a little bump in the farmer share of two products:retail pork and canola oil. “I was a little surprised that some of the numbers have actually reversed, but when you think about it, I guess it makes sense that canola prices have rebounded a little bit compared to where they were,” Prybylski said. APAS tracks the farmer share of several food products by comparing the retail price with the producer price for the initial commodity. These include a 675-gram load of