Zurich | Reuters — The deadline for shareholders in Swiss pesticides maker Syngenta to accept a US$43 billion takeover bid from state-owned ChemChina has been extended to allow for some outstanding regulatory approvals, the company said Tuesday. Syngenta said the offer will now run from May 24 to July 18. “We don’t have all the […] Read more
Syngenta offer deadline extended as regulators probe deal
‘Baby’ those pastures in a drought year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Grazers hit hard by last year’s drought could be in for another difficult year. “Hopefully this is not setting up to be a 2002 year, but it certainly looks and feels like that,” said Ed Bork, a rangeland ecology and management researcher at the University of Alberta. “That can change in the matter of a […] Read more
Lethbridge feed barley’s spring rally muted
CNS Canada — Lethbridge feed barley should be seeing its largest premium over fall and winter months, but so far this year the market’s spring rally has been limited. “This year all we’ve seen is a $5 to $10 per tonne move higher,” said Jim Beusekom, analyst at Market Place Commodities. “So it’s pretty minimal […] Read more
Forecasters see rising likelihood of La Nina in 2016
Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday heightened its projections for the La Nina weather phenomenon to take place in the Northern Hemisphere later this year, on the heels of an El Nino likely to fade by early summer. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, in its […] Read more
Grasshoppers want you to overgraze your pastures
The voracious pests gather on bare patches in the morning to warm up – and that allows them to start their day earlier
Reading Time: < 1 minute A dry fall and spring up the potential for grasshopper problems this year — and putting cattle on pasture too early greatly improves their habitat and increases their resulting damage. “From work by Llewellyn Manske from North Dakota, grazing before plants are ready sets back plant growth, and creates an open plant canopy with areas […] Read more
‘Severe’ grasshopper numbers loom over northern Alberta
CNS Canada –– A mild winter and a warm, dry spring have created some favourable hatching conditions for grasshoppers in Alberta, with the possibility of a severe outbreak in some areas. According to Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Stettler, higher numbers of grasshoppers lie in a region northwest of Edmonton. Beyond […] Read more
Glacier pledges support for wildfire disaster relief
Farm Business Communications’ parent company, Glacier Media, is donating $50,000 toward the Canadian Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in the Fort McMurray area. The Vancouver company said its donation is also on behalf of individual Glacier business units, which will undertake their own awareness and fundraising efforts to help the city and its residents rebuild […] Read more
U.S. asked to seize Bundy cattle to protect tortoises
Reuters –– Environmental groups have asked the U.S. government to seize hundreds of jailed militant rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle, saying unregulated grazing of his herd on public lands in Nevada threatens habitat for federally protected desert tortoises. The request from nine organizations in a letter sent on Monday to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management […] Read more
Beef researcher mentorships available
Application deadline is June 1
Reading Time: < 1 minute Applications for the 2016-17 Beef Cattle Research Council’s Beef Researcher Mentorship Program are now being accepted. Four researchers were selected for the program last year and paired with mentors — innovative producers and industry experts — for a one-year term, which ends on July 31. They have reported very successful and valuable experiences, including establishing […] Read more
Fertilizer prices look to rise by late summer
CNS Canada — A rise in prices for soybeans and other crops could make fertilizer more expensive in the coming months, according to a major player in the industry. In the May market report from the Mosaic Co., the company credited the rally in agricultural commodity prices, the strengthening of key currencies and various Indian […] Read more
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