Kelowna | Reuters — Forest fires in British Columbia intensified on Saturday, with the number of people under evacuation orders doubling from a day earlier, as authorities warned of difficult days ahead. The province declared a state of emergency on Friday to access temporary authoritative powers to tackle fire-related risks, as out-of-control fires ripped through […] Read more
B.C. wildfires intensify, evacuation orders double
Rain helping slow fires near Yellowknife
Watch for post-harvest grain pests
Reading Time: < 1 minute As farmers prepare to put their next crop into storage, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has some tips to help identify insects (and know if they’re pests) if they appear in stored grain. The commission identifies 20 species of insects as primary pests (19 beetle species and one species of moth). Over 33 species are […] Read more
Interswitching resurgence puts rail, grain industries on collision course
Both sides say a pilot to test a bigger interswitching radius is a bad move, but for completely different reasons
Reading Time: 6 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Recent federal legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers. The fight is over the interswitching radius. Interswitching is a regulation to ensure that shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The regulation […] Read more
B.C. longshore workers ratify new deal
Minister pledges review of 'how disruption on this scale unfolded'
Longshore workers at British Columbia’s seaports have voted to accept the terms of a new four-year labour deal, ending five weeks of labour outages at Canada’s West Coast. Negotiators with the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and International Labour and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada), working with the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB), reached a new […] Read more
At Ag in Motion: Exhibitors ready after rainy first day
Wednesday typically AiM's most popular day
The sun is shining, exhibitors are ready and the grounds are prepared for a traditionally-busy second day of the Ag in Motion show near Langham, Sask. Opening day saw the clouds roll in and the skies open up, but few were complaining about the much-needed moisture that rolled through much of Western Canada on Tuesday. […] Read more
Bin safety starts with a plan
Keeping a few key points in mind can improve your safety when you have to enter a bin
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every year, several Canadian farmers and workers suffocate in grain bins. These deaths are preventable. People can become caught or trapped in grain bins in three different ways: the collapse of bridged grain, the collapse of a vertical wall of grain, and engulfment in grain. Moving or flowing grain is involved in all three. When […] Read more
Preview: Railways, grain shippers at loggerheads over interswitching
Pilot to test expanded radius deemed unnecessary by both sides
Recent legislation has raised the stakes in a decade-long battle between the railways and Canadian grain shippers over the interswitching radius. Interswitching refers to a regulation to ensure shippers located where only a single railway operates can access points that are not served by that railway. The issue is especially concerning for Canadian grain shippers […] Read more
B.C. waterfront work to resume ‘as soon as possible’
BCMEA, ILWU reach tentative four-year deal
Striking longshore workers and their management are “finalizing details” for work to resume at Canada’s West Coast ports after a tentative deal was reached Thursday. The B.C. Maritime Employers Association said in a release Thursday morning it had reached a tentative pact with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) on a new four-year […] Read more
Feds to propose terms to settle B.C. ports strike
Labour minister asks mediator to draft a deal
In the hope of ending a longshore workers’ strike at British Columbia’s ports, Canada’s labour minister plans to put forward a recommendation for a settlement to break a stalemate between union and management. In a statement at about 9:30 CT Tuesday evening, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said he had asked the senior federal mediator in […] Read more
Thunder Bay grain shipments up on year
Less potash moved so far this year
MarketsFarm — Grain shipments through the Port of Thunder Bay are running well ahead of the previous year’s pace, according to updated data from the Lake Superior facility. Grain shipments through the end of June of about 2.5 million tonnes were up by 760,000 from the same point the previous year. Monthly shipments in June […] Read more