A decision by Tyson Foods Inc to stop buying slaughter-ready Canadian cattle looks to accelerate the movement of lighter Canadian cattle to U.S. feedlots, industry sources say, damaging the already fragile Canadian beef sector. A Tyson spokesman said on Thursday that the biggest U.S. meat processor halted purchases of slaughter-ready cattle from Canada as of […] Read more
Canadian feeder cattle exports seen surging after Tyson move
Maple Leaf Foods explores sale Of Canada Bread stake
Maple Leaf Foods said on Monday it may sell its controlling stake in Canada Bread Company as it determines whether to exit the bakery business and focus on meat products. Toronto-based Maple Leaf said it has recently completed a comprehensive review of opportunities to accelerate profitable growth across its bakery business. But before committing resources, […] Read more
Canada’s livestock farmers big winners in EU deal, dairy a loser
Canada’s hog and beef cattle farmers, stinging from a trade dispute with the United States, look to be among the biggest Canadian winners in a free trade agreement sealed with the European Union on Friday. The deal looks less promising for Canadian dairy farmers, consumers of pharmaceutical drugs and government suppliers, who will face new […] Read more
Possible rail strike may further slow huge Prairie crop movement
A possible strike at Canada’s biggest railway is compounding a vexing problem in the second-biggest wheat exporting country — how to move the western crop belt’s abundant harvest to port with a strained transportation system. A dispute between Canadian National Railway and its Teamster-represented railroad conductors and yardmen raises the possibility of a strike or […] Read more
Burger chain A&W taps demand for hormone-free beef
Reading Time: 2 minutes Privately owned Canadian hamburger chain A&W will buy only beef from cattle raised without added growth hormones or steroids, a move that adds costs but taps into growing consumer interest in how food is prepared. Vancouver, British Columbia-based A&W Food Services of Canada, known for its Teen Burger, dancing bear mascot and root beer, launched […] Read more
Big canola yields, imports ease supply concerns for U.S. crushers
Big canola yields in the northern Plains have eased earlier supply concerns for U.S. processors, who also look to tap a bin-busting harvest in Western Canada. U.S. farmers planted 1.3 million acres of canola in 2013, but unfavourable weather prevented them planting the crop on 426,711 acres, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Services […] Read more
Mosaic, PotashCorp disband U.S. phosphate export group
The U.S. phosphate export association PhosChem has disbanded, a spokesman for U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co. said on Wednesday, making it the second fertilizer trade consortium to break up this year. The 39-year-old Phosphate Chemicals Export Association Inc. handled U.S. exports of the crop nutrient on behalf of Mosaic and PotashCorp. Minnesota-based Mosaic, which supplied […] Read more
Canada’s big wheat crop vies with U.S. for export sales
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters / Canada’s biggest wheat crop in more than two decades will send supplies from the No. 2 wheat exporter into unusual places, battling head-on with U.S. wheat, grain traders said. Canadian farmers are expected to harvest 30.6 million tonnes of wheat this autumn, counting all varieties, according to Statistics Canada. Nearly two-thirds of the […] Read more
Huge canola crop boon to crushers, exporters after off year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters / Canada’s expected record-large canola crop looks to restock the country’s seed exporters and crushers after a disappointing previous harvest, and top up already growing global oilseed supplies, industry sources said. Canada is the world’s biggest producer of canola, which is mainly used to make vegetable oil for foods like potato chips and salad […] Read more
Agrium warns of lower potash volumes, hikes payout
Fertilizer and ag retail giant Agrium warned its potash volumes are expected to be about 30 per cent lower than normal in the current quarter — but raised its dividend 50 per cent, saying agriculture’s longer-term fundamentals are strong. Potash prices have slipped since mid-summer, when the biggest global producer Uralkali OAO quit its export […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
