By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday March 9, 2021

Mar 9, 2021 | 9:53 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — The Shipping Federation of Canada is warning a potential strike at the Port of Montreal is already having a damaging impact even as negotiations are set to resume tomorrow.

The trade association representing the interests of ocean-going ships said the threat of a work stoppage is forcing North American importers and exporters to divert large volumes of international cargo away from the port.

The federation said damage to the local, provincial, and national economies would be significant and could not happen at a worse time because of the logistics of delivering medical supplies and equipment in the midst of a pandemic.

The Maritime Employers Association met last week with the longshoremen’s union affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

The union representing 1,125 longshoremen and the employer will conclude a seven-month truce last August after a 10-day strike that expires Mar. 20.

Armed robbery

Suspected robber caught after returning to the scene

2h ago

THIS IS A PLEA FOR HELP!

Mayor in Loon Lake requests support in wake of criminal activity, church fire

21h ago

Election 2024

Another candidate to run in Prince Albert's Ward 5

Oct 01, 2024

Talks stumbled last year mainly over the issue of working hours. The collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2018.

–

Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) researchers have announced the successful mapping of the entire set of canola genes.

GIFS at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) are members of an international group of academic and commercial seed companies from the US, Canada, Europe, and Israel.

The International Canola Pan-genome Consortium was established in 2019 to advance the canola agricultural industry by capturing the broad genetic diversity of the crop.

Dr. Andrew Sharpe said completing the sequencing of all the genomes and delivering the comparative pan-genome analysis has revealed the scope of genetic diversity that exists within the crop.

“It truly is the final satisfying step of this rewarding initiative,” Sharpe said in a news release.

The consortium included Bayer, Corteva, Nutrien and NuSeed. Each member contributed their own canola lines and received the full pan-genome comparison results.

Sharpe said building a pan-genome database in canola is key to expanding the crop’s productivity and will help increase its use.

–

alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW