New appointment on Farm Products Marketing Commission Thursday, January 16, 2014 by SUSAN MANN The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission has a new member – Valerie Hobbs of Woodstock. Her two-tear term started Dec. 17, 2013 and goes until Dec. 16, 2015. Hobbs is manager of Blythe Brae Farms Ltd. and is also a grain farmer with a 320-acre operation. She is a former owner and CEO of Dyshar Farms Ltd. Her farming community work involved serving on both the Ontario Soybean Growers and Grain Farmers of Ontario. She is a member of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Ontario Agri Business Association. Hobbs obtained an honours Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo. There are two members of the seven-member commission, chaired by Geri Kamenz of Spencerville, whose term expires this year. One is former Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews of Trenton. Her term is up on April 17. The term of Thomas Richardson of Ottawa expires on March 22. BF CanWest DHI election results highlights Food inflation in 2014 tied to lower meat supply and exchange rate
Bushel Plus rebrands to BranValt for global harvest-tech growth Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Bushel Plus Ltd., a well‑known name in harvest optimization tools and training, is preparing for a major brand transformation as it shifts to a new global identity: BranValt. The company recently announced that the transition will officially take effect in July 2026, marking a... Read this article online
Canada Negotiates Tariff Reductions on Canola Seed by China Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Mark Carney has concluded his visit to Beijing for high-level meetings with Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping. The visit marked the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017 and resulted in a joint statement outlining a new strategic partnership between the two countries.... Read this article online
Ontario Pig Producer Disease Advisory -- PED and PDCoV Risks Rising This Winter Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) continue to pose significant risks to swine operations across the industry. Both viruses are highly infectious, spread easily through manure, contaminated equipment, transport vehicles, and human movement, and can have... Read this article online
Ag Minister Launches National Consultations to Shape the Next Agricultural Policy Framework Tuesday, January 20, 2026 As Canada begins charting its next decade of agricultural policy, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri Food, officially launched national consultations on the development of the Next Policy Framework (NPF)—the federal, provincial, and territorial agreement that... Read this article online
Syngenta introduces new soybean seed treatment Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Soybean farmers have a new crop protection product available to them for the 2026 growing season. Syngenta recently introduced Victrato Complete, its new fungicide and nematicide seed treatment. “It’s the only fungicide and nematicide seed treatment with five active ingredients that’ll... Read this article online