Biodiesel conference gearing up - The excellent slate of speakers for July's Biodiesel: Powered by Canola conference is solidifying. Alejandro Reca is set to kick things off with an overview of worldwide production and use of biodiesel. Reca is head of food and agribusiness research for Rabobank International. As someone who helps companies actually use biodiesel, Dennis Rogoza knows how to work toward a Canadian renewable fuel standard. Rogoza is director of Fleet Challenge B.C. About 50 fleets, including 3,000 vehicles, are members of the B.C. Biofleet program.
The rest of the workshop and conference slated for July 17-18 at the Westin Calgary will touch on just about anything you want to know about the future of the biodiesel industry and canola's place in it. The industry's who's who will be there to discuss the economics and environmental implications of canola biodiesel and how to pursue a favourable public policy.
Be a part of it by registering at https://www.canola-council.org/conference/registration.htm
New Holland pulls for biodiesel - New Holland has become the first major farm equipment manufacturer to specifically approve the use of B20 biodiesel blends in all equipment currently made with New Holland engines. The biodiesel must meet the specified industry standard for fuel quality of ASTM D6751 to ensure optimum performance and durability of the engine, according to a New Holland press release.
For a copy of the complete announcement, visit:
http://www.newhollandmediakit.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=newsreleases.DisplayNewsReleases&NewsID=166
Canola at the Smithsonian - Canola Council president Barb Isman will address a forum on cross-border agricultural interdependence at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. June 29. Her presentation will kick off a panel discussion titled Canada-U.S. Agricultural Interdependence and Market Integration.
The forum is being held in conjunction with the province of Alberta's participation in the Smithsonian Institution's Folklife Festival, held on the Mall June 30-July 11. Alberta is the first Canadian province to be featured at this free outdoor event which attracts 1.5 million people each year.
Canola should get some major attention. Canola information and pictures will occupy one-quarter of a display by the Grain Academy Museum in the Alberta tent. Canola oil will be served at all Alberta-sponsored functions and 1,000 canola oil information packages have been prepared for reach media covering the event.
To see an Alberta government press release on the event, go to:
http://www.iir.gov.ab.ca/international_relations/albertaatthesmithsonian.asp
Canola cash advance program expands - Up to $100,000 will now be available to canola growers in the form of cash advances administered by the Canadian Canola Growers Association. Along with doubling the maximum loan amount, federal ag minister Chuck Strahl also announced that the loans will remain interest free and the repayment period will be extended to September 30, 2007.
Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) is one of the program’s administrators. CCGA general manager Ernie Doerksen says that “while not all of the necessary financial details have been finalized, the CCGA will do everything possible to get cash into producers’ hands quickly”.
Growers who have already applied for advances under the current SCAP advance will be transferred into the new program at no additional charge. Until the new forms are available, Doerksen advises growers to “apply under the old program and then transfer their applications to the ESCAP and adjust the amount they’re eligible for”.
Richardson Centre is officially open - The Richardson Centre for
Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals held its grand opening May 16 at the University
of Manitoba. The $31-million facility will help researchers identify and enhance
health-promoting compounds in prairie crops such as canola and develop them into
marketable food supplements. Read more about the ceremony here:
http://myuminfo.umanitoba.ca/index.asp?sec=2&too=100&eve=8&dat=5/17/2006&npa=10659
Perhaps a salad dressing to cure what ails you… - You may have noticed a new line of salad dressings on your grocery store shelf called Wellness Dressings. Renee's Gourmet, created by Canadians Renee and Arnie Unger, have recently introduced the dressings containing what they call "power ingredients" such as expeller pressed canola oil.
The Wellness Dressings carry the Heart and Stroke Foundation's Health Check symbol for heart healthy foods. The new dressings won Canadian Living magazine’s Best New Product Award for 2006 in the sauces and dressings category. Along with omega-3 polyunsaturated oils, the dressings also boast antioxidants and inulin, a pre-biotic that helps maintain a healthy digestive system.
For more information, visit www.wellnessdressing.com
What's in a name? - With a name like Fatz Café, you wouldn't think health is on their customers' minds, but the decision makers at the southern U.S. restaurant chain has decided to cook all its fried food with high oleic canola oil. Headquartered in Taylors, South Carolina, Café Enterprises operates 31 Fatz Café restaurants in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.
So you want to know how to run a convention - The Canola Council's resident convention organizers Diane Wreford and Jennifer Dyck have been asked to address a meeting of the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association May 30 in Winnipeg. They will explain how the Council staged a successful convention in an unconventional location. And they’ll invite ag media to the 2007 convention planned for mid March at Victoria’s mountain resort – Bear Mountain. Check out the location at http://www.bearmountain.ca/resort/default.html and watch for convention details soon!
Canola Ink is your biweekly update from the Canola Council of Canada. Please copy, reprint or transmit any portion of this report. If you have questions or comments, contact Diane Wreford at (204) 982-2108 or e-mail wrefordd@canola-council.org.
« back