New Delhi | Reuters — India’s president on Sunday approved three controversial agricultural bills amid nationwide protests by farmers who say the new laws will stunt their bargaining power and instead allow large retailers to have control over pricing. Farmers’ organizations say one of the three laws could lead to the government stopping buying grain […] Read more

India’s controversial farm bills become law despite protests

India restores reduced tariff on lentil imports
All but U.S. lentil imports to get better break on duty, again
India has reinstated a reduced-rate tariff on imports of lentils from Canada as well as from all lentil-exporting nations other than the United States. Saskatchewan Pulse Growers on Friday reported receiving a Sept. 17 notification of amendment from India’s finance ministry regarding customs tariffs on lentils, which in Canada’s case had snapped back to 33 […] Read more

Bayer resolves more U.S. Roundup cases
Judge keeps pause on litigation
Reuters — Attorneys for Bayer and U.S. consumers suing the company over allegations its Roundup herbicide caused cancer told a judge on Thursday they are continuing to resolve thousands more U.S. cases, improving prospects for its US$11 billion deal to end the litigation. The hearing was a contrast to the contentious tone among the parties […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea production expected up in 2021
MarketsFarm — Following an expected 11.4 per cent drop in Saskatchewan’s chickpea harvest this year, provincial pulse specialist Dale Risula is expecting an increase in 2021. In Statistics Canada’s most recent field crop report, issued last week, chickpea production in Saskatchewan was estimated to have dropped from 224,600 tonnes in 2019 to 199,010 tonnes this […] Read more

FBN cuts yearly membership fee to zero
Ag e-commerce firm offers free accounts to farmers
E-marketplace Farmers Business Network (FBN) has disposed of the annual membership fee that allowed members access to its various buying groups and services. California-based FBN, which has operated in the U.S. since 2014 and expanded to Canada in 2017, announced Tuesday (Sept. 15) its farmer members may now have “access to a select range of […] Read more

Prairies can expect far better harvest weather this fall
MarketsFarm — Prairie farmers are likely going have good weather over the next few weeks, according to Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. “We got a pretty significant warm-up across most of the Prairies through to the end of September. It should be fairly warm and not too much in the way of precipitation,” he said. “At […] Read more

Saskatchewan lentil crop projections raise skepticism
MarketsFarm — There’s a little skepticism towards Statistics Canada’s projections for this fall’s lentil crop in Saskatchewan. The federal agency on Monday pegged the province’s 2020 lentil crop to come in at around 2.61 million tonnes on about 3.73 million acres. That’s almost a 26 per cent jump in production on a 13.2 per cent […] Read more

Indian cabinet minister quits over farm legislation
New Delhi | Reuters — India’s minister for food processing resigned on Thursday over her opposition to planned laws to allow farmers to sell produce directly to bulk buyers and make contract farming easier, saying the legislation will hurt millions of the country’s farmers. “Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” Harsimrat […] Read more

‘Structural failure’ downs Vancouver terminal grain bin
Terminal owner Fibreco, bin maker AGI pledge to investigate
The owner of a new West Coast grain and pulse crop export terminal pledges to investigate the collapse Friday of a new commercial-scale grain bin at its site. Fibreco Export Inc., a wood fibre exporter majority-owned by forest products firm Tolko Industries, said in a release Saturday that “one of our new agricultural product silos […] Read more

Court approval sought for Morris Industries sale
Rite Way deal the 'highest and best offer received'
The court overseeing creditor protection for seeding equipment maker Morris Industries is being asked to approve a deal for the company’s sale to another Saskatchewan manufacturer. Calgary consultancy Alvarez and Marsal, the court-appointed monitor for Morris, said Tuesday in its latest report to Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon it recommends approval of a sale […] Read more