File photo of locks on the Welland Canal at Allanburg, Ont. (Jimfeng/iStock/Getty Images)

Seaway workers’ strike underway

Management awaiting CIRB ruling on grain traffic

Unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway walked off the job just after midnight Sunday, shutting the waterway to all cargo vessels including grain traffic for now. Unifor, which represents about 360 Seaway workers across five locals in Ontario and Quebec, had served Seaway management with 72 hours’ strike notice on Wednesday. In a release […] Read more

File photo of locks on the Welland Canal at Allanburg, Ont. (Jimfeng/iStock/Getty Images)

Seaway to seek order exempting grain traffic from strike action

Management, union say talks still ongoing

Facing a strike that would shut down traffic on the waterway as early as Sunday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. has asked for an order confirming that grain would need to continue moving. Unifor, the union representing over 360 seaway workers across five union locals in Ontario and Quebec, on Wednesday served the corporation […] Read more



Net sales fell to $25.8 billion from $30.3 billion, reflecting a decline in prices as well as a 4.7 per cent year-on-year decrease in volumes shipped.

Crop giant Louis Dreyfus posts lower profit on calmer markets

Like its rivals, the grains merchant has seen profits ease after last year’s surge

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Louis Dreyfus Company has reported that its first-half net profits and sales have fallen compared to a last year, when markets were boosted by upheaval from the war in Ukraine. One of the world’s largest crop merchants, its rivals include Archer-Daniels-Midland, Bunge and Cargill. The company reported a group net profit of US$568 […] Read more


A DryAir central heating system feeds aeration fans for a row of grain bins. (Assie.ca)

Investment firm buys Saskatchewan drying system maker

EIC buys DryAir for $60 million

A Winnipeg investment firm with ownership stakes in Canadian manufacturing and airlines has bought a Saskatchewan company that makes heating and drying systems for grain growers and other sectors. Exchange Income Corp. (EIC) announced Oct. 5 it has bought DryAir Manufacturing of St. Brieux for about $60 million in cash and EIC stock. DryAir, in […] Read more

Rob Painter (l) and Eric Hansotia, CEOs of Trimble and Agco respectively, agreed on Sept. 28, 2023 to combine their precision ag arms into a new joint venture. (Trimble via PRNewswire)

Trimble Ag, Agco’s JCA link up for new precision ag venture

Agco gets majority control of a new precision ag and autonomy firm; Agco's GSI brand and others now under separate review

Global positioning tech firm Trimble is set to sell its precision ag business into a new joint-venture company that will include farm machinery maker Agco’s made-in-Manitoba autonomy arm. From farmers’ perspective, the two companies say their combined technology offering is expected to offer “seamless integration and connectivity across geographies, equipment brands and the crop life […] Read more


Russia says conditions key to grain deal

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says action needed before his country will move

Reading Time: 2 minutes Russia will return to the Black Sea grain deal ‘the same day’ as Moscow’s conditions for export of its own grain and fertilizers to the global markets are met, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters September 11. Russia quit the deal in July, a year after it was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, […] Read more

Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal in this file photo. (CIA.gov)

Panama Canal water levels at historic lows, restrictions to remain

Lake feeding canal low on rainfall

Panama City | Reuters — The Panama Canal’s water levels have not recovered enough as the end of the rainy season approaches and limits on daily transit and vessel draft will stay in place for the rest of the year and throughout 2024, the waterway’s authority said on Tuesday. The restrictions, implemented earlier this year […] Read more


Buhler Industries’ Versatile Nemesis 235 tractor. (Versatile-ag.com)

Buhler books bigger profit as supply chain issues pass

Company now seeking 'long-term investment partner'

The maker of Versatile tractors and Farm King equipment says the supply chain issues that have pressured its quarterly bottom line have begun to clear. Winnipeg-based Buhler Industries on Aug. 14 reported net income of $16.1 million on $67.6 million in revenue for its second quarter ending June 30, up from $1.1 million on $57.8 […] Read more

Container ships pass through locks on the Panama Canal in this file photo. (CIA.gov)

Panama Canal’s drought-induced bottleneck eases

Some vessels detour; transits per day still reduced

Panama City | Reuters — A backlog of vessels waiting to pass the Panama Canal due to drought-related restrictions has eased in recent days after the waterway’s authority authorized more non-booked ships to pass and as others are choosing alternate routes to avoid the delays. The Panama Canal Authority last week opened two additional slots […] Read more