Belle Plaine, SK (August 4, 2010) - With over 200 people in attendance, Alpine Plant Foods (www.alpineflantfoods.com) officially opened their new production facility in Belle Plaine, SK.

The new eight million dollar production facility has a capacity of 700,000 litres per day of liquid phosphate fertilizer for Western Caanda growers.  Although Alpine has been servicing farmers in Western Canada for over a decade, this new plant is a result of growing demand for starter fertilizer in Western Canada.

Benefits for the Western gower of this new plant include not only reduced shipping costs but also a quicker turnaroud time for delivery.

For more information, click here to read the complete news release.

The new CAMA Ontario Board of Directors for 2010-2011 were announced at their Annual Golf and General meeting held on June 29, 2010.
 

Congratulations to the winning team of Tom Funk, Agri Studies Inc,  Justin Funk, Agri-Studies Inc., Linda Parry, Bark Communications and Brian Klassen, Bark Communications for defending their title at the CAMA ON Annual Golf and General Meeting held on June 29, 2010.

Twelve teams participated in the event held at the Victoria East Golf Club in Guelph, ON.

Enjoy your bragging rights for the year!

The BBQ at CFB Edmonton that Harvey Dann is organizing with help from the Canadian Cattlemens Association has been scheduled for Saturday, June 19 at 11 am. It has also drawn the attention of numerous agrimarketers and media. Mr. Dann was interviewed by City TV in Winnipeg, and City TV in Edmonton anticipates having cameras and crew at CFB Edmonton for the Homecoming. Three 4-H clubs in Central AB raised $2,000 for this cause. Harvey feels it is important for these young people to understand what these servicemen and women sacrifice when they serve our country.

Dann is working to repeat and expand the 2007 Petawawa BBQ of 2007. That’s when the first troop rotation came back from Afghanistan and the CCA picked up the tab for 1,700 steaks served to the returning troops of the Royal Canadian Regiment and their families at CFB Petawawa.

Dann is asking for donations to repeat the 2007 Petawawa BBQ at all of the major Canadian Forces Bases across Canada. While June’s BBQ’s at CFB Edmonton and CFB Shilo are covered, Dann still needs donations for BBQ’s planned for Val Cartier, Gagetown and Petawawa.

Interested parties can send donations to Alert Agri Distributors at 14 River Springs Drive, West St Paul, Manitoba, R4A 2A3.

Please see attached PDF for more information.

More Canadians surfing the net

Eighty per cent of Canadians age 16 and over used the internet for personal reasons in 2009, up from 73 per cent two years earlier, Statistics Canada reports.

People living in Alberta and B.C. reported the highest internet usage rates, at 85 per cent in each province. Calgary and Saskatoon topped the list for internet use by city, each with 89 per cent.

The most common household internet use was email, while health information was the topic most frequently searched. An increasing number of internet users now report watching TV and movies online (31 per cent), and contributing content through writing blogs, uploading photos or taking part in discussion groups (27 per cent).

The number of Canadians with high-speed access also grew — to 92 per cent in 2009 from 88 per cent in 2007.

Younger Canadians in larger cities, with higher education and income, are more likely to use the internet. (iStock)Statistics Canada reported a continuing "digital divide" between internet users and non-users, with age, income, education and geography as key factors.

Canadians living in communities with fewer than 10,000 people use the internet far less than those in larger centres. The margin is 83 per cent versus 73 per cent.

The survey also showed that among wealthy Canadians, those with incomes over $85,000 personal internet usage is 94 per cent, compared with 56 per cent in households with incomes under $30,000.

People with a post-secondary education reported 89 per cent internet use, compared with 66 per cent for those with no post-secondary education.Not surprisingly, younger Canadians used the internet far more than those in older age groups. In 2009, 98 per cent of those between 16 and 24 went online, compared with 66 per cent of Canadians over 45.

The survey that produced the data included 23,000 Canadians over the age of 16. It was conducted by Statistics Canada in November 2009.

Click here to view the latest CAMA Saskatchewan News from the April issue of Agri-Marketing magazine.

Agri-Marketing magazine, Jan/Feb issue - Article PDF.

Agri-Marketing magazine, March issue - Article PDF

 Jay Bradshaw, President of Syngenta Crop Protection Canada, Inc, recently addressed CAMA Ontario  members at the Canadian International Farm Show.

Click here  to listen to  the conversation with Jay Bradshaw and Dennis Guy of Orator Voice @applications,  as Jay outlines the dilemmas we face of trying to feed the world.

The Canadian Agri-Marketing Association would like to pass along condolences to the family of Isabel McPherson.  She served as the Executive Director for the Alberta Chapter in the early 1990's. 

Click here to view Isabel's obituary.

January 3, 2010 (Guelph) – After years of operating as individual Provincial Chapters, executives representing CAMA Chapters from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec have ratified a constitution creating a new National Committee. The purpose of the committee is to bring unity and consistency to the way CAMA is represented to the rest of the Canadian agri-business industry.

“It’s an important step for CAMA”, says Justin Funk, Ontario Chapter President and newly elected Chairman of CAMA. “We have been working on this for quite some time now. With the Quebec Chapter coming off it’s first Best of CAMA in 2008, and the successful reinstitution of the Alberta Chapter this past year, we all felt it was time to unite the Chapters and decide on some sort of official association leadership.”

The National Committee consists of a minimum of two representatives from each provincial Chapter, which under the new constitution of CAMA will continue to operate as individual entities. “Our goal is to ensure there is a consistent set of operating principles in place that affect all CAMA Chapters”, says David Lazarenko, President of CAMA Manitoba and National Committee representative. “The new structure will not take away the ability from Chapters to run individually. Every Chapter knows what’s best of its own membership and therefore day-to-day issues should be managed by the Chapters themselves.”

The CAMA National Committee will be responsible for ensuring there are standards in place for Best of CAMA; there is purposeful and effective representation within NAMA; and that any communications or issues affecting CAMA as a national organization are dealt with at a National level. “CAMA is a National Organization and should have a National voice,” says CAMA Saskatchewan President and National Committee representative, Teresa Giesbrecht.

“Probably the most significant issue affecting our decision to move forward with this was the Alberta Chapter,” states Funk. “In 2007, the Alberta Chapter shut down despite its reputation for being one of the largest and most successful Chapters. There was simply a lack of individuals willing to lead the Chapter and so it closed.” Funk continues, “The other Chapters weren’t aware of what was going on. If we were, then we could have perhaps helped to prevent this from happening.”

Funk believes that having a National leadership structure in place will not only prevent other Chapters from suffering the same fate as Alberta, but will ensure that CAMA continues to thrive in other provinces. CAMA Alberta President and National Committee representative Jack Zenert says, “Knowing that a CAMA National Committee was in the works was a key driver in helping us get Alberta back up and running.” He continues, “Our membership feels confident that with support from the (National) Committee we can continue this positive momentum as well as make a positive contribution to the Association as a whole.”

“We are fortunate to have an Association in Canada dedicated to those who practice agri-marketing, ” says Luc Gagnon, Quebec Chapter President and National Committee Representative. “We are excited to be given the opportunity to ensure CAMA stays strong for years to come.”

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For more information about CAMA, contact Justin Funk.

 Pictures of the Best of CAMA Celebration can be viewed in the Ontario photo gallery

Jay Bradshaw, President of Syngenta Crop Protection Canada, Inc., was awarded the prestigious title of Canadian Agri-Marketer of the Year 2009 at the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA) Best of CAMA awards and banquet last night (November 5), at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel, Niagara Falls, ON.


 

The Best of CAMA organizing committee and the Ontario CAMA Chapter have donated money to the 4-H Council in lieu of thank you gifts to the 55 judges and 50 sponsors from the Best of CAMA event held on November 5, 2009 in Niagara Falls.

The rain clouds stayed away to allow for a great day of golfing at the CAMA Annual Golf and General Meeting held on August 18, 2009 at the Victoria East Golf Course in Guelph, ON.  Congratulations to the winning team of Brian Klassen, Bark Communications, Linda Parry, Bark Communications, Justin Funk, Agri-Studies Inc and Dr. Tom Funk, Agri-Studies Inc.

The 2010 CAMA Annual Golf and General meeting will take place on June 29, 2010 at the Victoria East Golf Course, Guelph, ON.

 

Genuity™ SmartStax™ Corn, Genuity™ Roundup Ready 2 Yield® Lead Robust R&D Pipeline

GRINNELL, Iowa -- Monsanto Company's (NYSE: MON) R&D pipeline is on the verge of a technology explosion that is expected to deliver value-added products with improved yield for growers and has the company poised to meet its goals for 2012 and beyond, Hugh Grant, Monsanto's chairman, chief executive officer and president, will tell investors today.

Click here to see Steve Denys of Pride Seeds take us to a field being sprayed with Headline.

Video cameras are now under some student’s arms in Guelph, as they work to promote research going on at the University. Students Promoting Awareness in Research Knowledge (better known as SPARK) have launched SPARK*air with the help of Farms.com using the Farms.com video platform - eHarvest.com. For the next 3 months, students will produce one video per week that looks at research going on at Guelph and its affiliate campuses and research stations. Funding for the project was provided by The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and University of Guelph Partnership.