Grow-ops cause Pacific power blowouts Tuesday, February 9, 2016 Legal marijuana grow operations are putting such a strain on the power grid in Oregon and Washington states that they're blowing out transformers.In a November Statesman Journal article, Portland General Electric spokesman Steve Corson estimated that the grow-ops account for 10 per cent of the roughly 400 transformer blowouts the Oregon utility experiences in a year.The article also quotes Roger Blank, director of safety for Pacific Power, as saying a grow-op with four plants under standard lights "is like hooking up 29 refrigerators that run 24/7."Corson told Portland Business Journal in November that the popularization of LED lighting, more expensive to install than traditional lighting, is easing the situation. One grower quoted in the story estimated that 200 lights per 10,000 square feet of an indoor operation would take US$10,000 a month to light by LED and double that amount by traditional light. BF Irrigating precious crops equals jobs Behind the Lines - February 2016
Saskatchewan Startup Unveils Portable Device to Detect Crop Diseases in the Field Friday, May 29, 2026 With global crop losses from pests and diseases reaching as high as 40 percent annually, a Saskatchewan-based startup is working to equip farmers with faster, more practical tools to protect their yields. PathoScan Technologies, founded in Saskatoon, has developed a portable... Read this article online
Falling Behind on Direct Alcohol Shipping Deadline Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada’s small alcohol producers are growing increasingly frustrated as a promised timeline for direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol shipping reforms approaches with little visible progress. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling out federal and provincial... Read this article online
Rural Canada Is Critical to Trade, Food Security and Economic Recovery Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada is facing global instability, affordability pressures and growing urgency to rebuild its economic foundations. Rural Canada is one of the country’s most important economic assets. Although only about 16% to 18% of Canadians live in rural communities, leaders say those regions... Read this article online
Feds say Provinces Need to Act on Interprovincial Alcohol Sales Friday, May 29, 2026 Canada’s federal government is intensifying pressure on provinces and territories to complete negotiations and implement direct-to-consumer alcohol sales, a move expected to benefit agricultural producers, small businesses, and consumers across the country. The statement comes out... Read this article online
$15.1M to Scale Whole-Cut Plant-Based Protein Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced a $15.1 million co-investment in a multi-partner project aimed at scaling advanced manufacturing technology for whole-cut protein alternatives and strengthening Canada’s domestic agri-food value chain. The initiative brings together NS/TX... Read this article online