Reading Time: 3 minutes Two influential farm groups will urge the Competition Bureau to scale back Agrium Inc.’s proposed purchase of Viterra Inc. assets, saying Agrium might become too powerful in the sale of fertilizer and other crop supplies. In a $6.1-billion deal, global commodities giant Glencore International PLC will buy Viterra, Canada’s biggest grain handler, this summer, pending […] Read more
Farm groups say curb Agrium’s clout
Canada canola sector aims for China breakthrough
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canola Council of Canada is working to convince China to scrap its trade restrictions against the oilseed, Canada’s most profitable crop, and is hoping for a breakthrough this year, the organization’s new head said May 1. Canadian government and trade officials have made frequent visits to China, and the canola council is wrapping up […] Read more
Prairie farmers to sow record canola, more wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian farmers look to sow a record-large area with canola and bigger acreages of wheat, oats and barley, as dry conditions potentially give them the best planting weather in several years, a Reuters grain industry poll showed. To be sure, farmers won’t sink a single seed into the soil for almost another two months, giving […] Read more
CFIA inspectors cite delays getting tainted meat data
Canadian food inspectors could not immediately get key information from packer XL Foods after detecting E. coli bacteria in its beef, adding to a nearly two-week delay in launching one of the country’s largest-ever meat recalls. Authorities learned about the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in beef produced at the XL Foods plant at Brooks, […] Read more
Massive beef recall seen unlikely to rattle buyers
A huge recall of Canadian beef because of E. coli contamination is unlikely to slow that country’s beef consumption or its exports, analysts say, largely because the public has become familiar with E. coli. On Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) temporarily shut down privately held XL Foods’ beef-packing plant at Brooks, Alta., where […] Read more
Disappointing canola harvest sets off battle for supplies
A disappointing Canadian canola crop is setting up a tug-of-war between domestic crushers and exporters over supplies, with global vegetable oil markets already stretched tight by a drought-damaged U.S. soybean crop. Canadian farmers were expected to shatter the record for canola production and harvest 15.4 million tonnes of the oilseed in 2012-13, according to Statistics […] Read more
U.S. wheat up as Russia says may curb exports
Wheat prices climbed on Friday as Russia’s economy minister raised the possibility of grain export curbs by the world’s third-largest wheat shipper. Soybeans rose late, but posted their biggest weekly loss in a year. Corn edged higher, but ended with its largest weekly loss in more than three months. Russia, which accounted for 14 per […] Read more
U.S. soy driven to six-week low on harvest, technical selling
U.S. soybeans and corn fell on Thursday as the brisk pace of the domestic harvest and global economic worries dampened investor sentiment after drought lifted prices to record highs this summer. The lower prices triggered further selling based on technical indicators, taking soybeans down three per cent to a six-week low and knocking corn down […] Read more
CWB single-desk backers file for Supreme Court hearing
Supporters of Western Canada’s now-defunct grain marketing monopoly hope to take their fight against the Canadian government to the country’s highest court. Eight farmers, who were once on the Canadian Wheat Board’s board of directors, said they filed papers on Wednesday to ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear their appeal of a lower […] Read more
Bargain buyers grab U.S. grains after selloff
U.S. soybeans rose nearly two per cent on Wednesday after their biggest two-day selloff in seven weeks, and corn and wheat also climbed on buying interest at lower prices. Soybeans had fallen sharply this week on expectations crop yields across the drought-stricken U.S. Midwest will exceed forecasts as harvesting achieves a record pace. But there […] Read more
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