Keyword
farmers

Get ready for the ‘internet of cows’: Farmers use technology to shake up agriculture

MONTREAL – Get ready for the “internet of cows.” Generations of farmers have relied on knowledge and family expertise to grow food, but the sector is set for a surge of disruption at the hands of made-in-Canada artificial intelligence-powered systems.…

B.C.’s wildfire season surpasses 1958 record for amount of land burned

KAMLOOPS, B.C. – British Columbia’s wildfires have destroyed a record amount of forest, brush and grassland, surpassing the devastation of nearly 60 years ago. Kevin Skrepnek with the BC Wildfire Service said about 8,944 square kilometres have been scorched by…

B.C. and federal governments assessing impact of wildfires on province’s agriculture sector

The governments of British Columbia and Canada have announced that they are working under the federal-provincial AgriRecovery disaster framework to determine the type of assistance that may be required by the province’s agriculture sector to recover from the impact of wildfires. The announcement was made on Wednesday following the first meeting between Lawrence MacAulay, the federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.

Government officials are working together to quickly assess the “extraordinary costs” farmers are incurring and what additional assistance may be required to recover and return to production following the wildfires, noted a joint statement from B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Canadian farmers turn to specialized forecasting in face of rising extreme weather threat

CALGARY – In an industry that lives and dies by the weather, farmers like Dwight Foster are looking for all the help they can get to know what’s coming. “We use every tool in the toolbox we can get our…

Proposal to eliminate farm insurers’ tax exemption before Senate

An omnibus bill that proposes to eliminate the tax exemption for insurers covering farming and fishing properties has been referred to a Senate committee. Currently, Section 149 of the federal Income Tax Act stipulates that an insurer is exempt from…

Zurich reports business operating profit of US$4.5 billion for 2016, up 55% from prior-year period

Zurich Insurance Group has reported a business operating profit (BOP) for the full-year ending Dec. 31, 2016 of US$4.5 billion, up 55% from the prior-year period. The fourth quarter BOP for the three months ending Dec. 31, 2016 was up…

Zurich’s net income after tax attributable to shareholders up 342% in Q3 2016

Zurich Insurance Group has reported net income after tax attributable to shareholders (NIAS) of US$912 million for the third quarter of 2016 ending Sept. 30, up 342% from US$207 million in the same quarter in 2015. For the nine months…

Rain, snow delay harvest in Saskatchewan, but agriculture minister optimistic

REGINA – Heavy rain and snow have delayed harvest in Saskatchewan, but Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart is sounding optimistic that farmers will be able to get the crop off the field. Saskatchewan Agriculture says many areas reported at least 25…

Ottawa supports pilot project for new credit insurance tool for farmers

The federal government is investing more than $400,000 to support the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s (CFA) efforts to introduce a new accounts receivable insurance tool for farmers. CFA’s two-year pilot project addresses a gap in the agriculture sector for individual…

Nova Scotia dry spell just a ‘dress rehearsal:’ Environment Canada

HALIFAX – An Environment Canada climatologist is warning that a dry spell in Nova Scotia that has left some people without water is just a “dress rehearsal” for the kind of weather conditions Canada can expect in the years to…