Expected labour costs were the major difference in a new ruling on the index that determines how much revenue each of Canada’s big two railways get to keep in the coming crop year from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Thursday announced its decisions on the volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) for […] Read more
Cost index up for CN, down for CP in grain revenue formula
CP expects lower labour costs, CN higher
Ontario’s RMP rolling out ‘later than usual’
Details pending, Agricorp says
Ontario farmers’ coverage under the provincial Risk Management Program (RMP) won’t be affected by ‘a bit later’ rollout this spring, the program’s handlers say. Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, reiterated in a statement Tuesday that the RMP “will be available in 2021 (and) program details will be shared with customers as soon as […] Read more
W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions has licences suspended
Company says it was in ‘constant contact’ with the Canadian Grain Commission over financial situation
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – W.A. Grain & Pulse Solutions has had its licences temporarily suspended by the Canadian Grain Commission and the company’s owner says the firm is facing “a worst-case scenario.” The Innisfail company, which has two elevators in Alberta and three in Saskatchewan, had its licences suspended by the grain commission on April 20 […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: StatsCan’s pea, chickpea acres short of trade expectations
MarketsFarm — Numbers were seen as disappointing for dry peas and chickpeas in Statistics Canada’s survey-based principal field crop planting projections released Tuesday. The federal agency predicted 3.839 million acres seeded for dry peas nationwide, nearly a 10 per cent decline compared to last year. By comparison, MarketsFarm projected 4.38 million acres while Agriculture and […] Read more
Feds to legislate end to Montreal port strike
Conservatives expected to support Liberals' back-to-work bill
A strike by longshore workers at the Port of Montreal faces federal back-to-work legislation billed Tuesday as the government’s “least desired course of action.” Labour Minister Filomena Tassi on Tuesday announced the introduction of Bill C-29, which “would end the work stoppage at the Port of Montreal and ensure the safe resumption and continuation of […] Read more
Updated CropChoices$ now available online
Reading Time: < 1 minute The 2021 edition of CropChoices$ is now online. The free budgeting and economic modelling tool can help when finalizing crop plans. The program helps forecast revenues and margins for grains, oilseeds, pulses, specialty and forage crops by using inputs and then calculating the probabilities of achieving the results. The latest edition features current crop insurance […] Read more
Rail shippers pick sides as CP, CN bid for Kansas City Southern
Richardson, Conagra among firms supporting both bids
Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s freight rail customers, from grain shippers to logistics companies, are choosing sides as Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway fight to buy Kansas City Southern. A takeout of KCS would be the first major North American railroad combination in more than 20 years and create the first network […] Read more
Ottawa urged to end Montreal longshoremen’s strike
Back-to-work legislation on table; NDP, Bloc oppose it
Montreal | Reuters — Dockworkers at Canada’s second-largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy $25 million a day. The federal Liberal government said Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike […] Read more
Alberta’s Blue Book is the same, but better
Reading Time: < 1 minute While the latest edition of the Blue Book is basically the same, it has a few “refinements.” When the province announced last year it would no longer publish the crop protection guide on fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and seed treatments, the big four crop commissions stepped in. That includes a rewrite (by AgSafe Alberta) of the […] Read more
‘Go west’ is paying off for British maker of plant-based ingredients
Its Calgary division plans to source — and eventually process — its yellow peas locally
Reading Time: 4 minutes Plant-protein processing is slowly but surely making its way to Alberta with the recent launch of Lovingly Made Ingredients in Calgary. The ingredient manufacturing arm of the British company Meatless Farm began production in its 33,000-square-foot facility in March. And so far, Alberta is proving to be the right location for the rapidly growing startup. […] Read more
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