Charred remnants of a rail bridge destroyed by a wildfire on June 30 are seen during a media tour by authorities in Lytton, B.C. on July 9, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Lytton bridge re-opened but grain movement ‘hit and miss’

B.C. wildfires continue to disrupt Prairie grain movement

Canadian National Railway’s fire-damaged bridge at Lytton, B.C. reopened for traffic Tuesday — but all train movement, including for grain, through British Columbia’s wildfire-ravaged southern Interior, is “hit and miss” and will remain so until the fire risk lessens. “Both (CN and Canadian Pacific Railway) are having troubles because there are so many fires in […] Read more



Faba Canada acquires Alberta processing facility

Faba Canada acquires Alberta processing facility

Company to produce protein concentrate, aims to spark faba acreage boom

Reading Time: < 1 minute The owner of Faba Canada has acquired a former field pea-processing plant at Legal and will open Alberta’s first fababean fractionation facility. The plant will allow his company, based in Melfort, Sask. to demonstrate it can successfully produce high-protein concentrate, company president Brad Goudy told Saskatchewan radio station CJVR. Goudy has been a longtime promoter […] Read more

A proposed code for the grain sector is getting a rough ride from farmers even though it would be voluntary and recommends practices already used by the vast majority of producers.

Farmers pan proposed code of practice for grain sector

Group behind voluntary code gets a lot of feedback — much of it negative — on its initial draft

Reading Time: 2 minutes Hundreds of Prairie farmers have weighed in on a new proposed grain code of practice — and most found a lot not to like. Among the criticisms of the draft Responsible Grain code of practice: it’s not needed; it won’t provide any benefits to producers; it could pave the way for regulations that would hinder […] Read more


An undated photo from CN’s media gallery shows a locomotive travelling through the Ashcroft, B.C. area. (CN.ca)

CN, CP trains ordered to slow down against fire risk

Ministerial order in effect until Oct. 31

A new federal ministerial order calls for Canada’s big two railways to significantly cut their train speeds in any areas deemed to be at an “extreme” fire risk. “With extreme weather events occurring more severely and frequently in Canada due to climate change, it is important to have an adaptive regulatory system that responds to […] Read more

A sign for Lytton, B.C. on July 1, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Feds halt CN, CP trains through B.C. wildfire area for two days

'Extended recovery' expected for westbound grain traffic

Updated — A federal ministerial order has been issued halting Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail movement through the Kamloops area of British Columbia for 48 hours from midnight Friday. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced the order late Thursday, ahead of an authorized tour Friday by evacuated residents to the largely-destroyed village of Lytton, about […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Saskatchewan crops fight off record heat

MarketsFarm — The “heat dome” which enveloped Western Canada last week delivered a blow to Saskatchewan’s pulse crops. Thirty-four temperature records were shattered on Friday, including those at Regina, Prince Albert, Swift Current, Weyburn and Yorkton. Saskatoon and Lucky Lake, northeast of Swift Current, were the province’s hot spots that day at 40 C. Nine […] Read more

Parrish and Heimbecker’s existing grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. (ParrishandHeimbecker.com)

P+H to replace eastern Saskatchewan elevator

New facility, loop track to be on line in mid-2022

Agrifood company Parrish and Heimbecker (P+H) plans to build a new and leaner grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. to replace its 41-year-old facility there. The privately-held Winnipeg grain firm said Wednesday it has already started work on the new build, which it expects to have ready to receive grain in June next year. The existing […] Read more