Refuge seed and other stewardship measures will be needed for the “majority” of soft white spring (SWS) wheat varieties grown on the Prairies, to protect the midge-tolerant trait many of them have now been found to have. That’s the assessment of seed marketing agency SeCan, which sells at least three SWS varieties now found to […] Read more
Refuge sought for West’s midge-tolerant SWS wheats
Grain equipment firm AGI buys into dryer market
The Winnipeg parent firm for grain bin, auger and conveyor brands such as Westeel, Twister, Westfield, Wheatheart and Batco has bought its way into the grain dryer and stationary grain handling businesses. Ag Growth International (AGI) announced Tuesday it has bought up all shares in a Nebraska-based competitor, Global Industries, for US$100 million — a […] Read more
Pattison takes up B.C. grocery chain Quality Foods
The owner of Save-On Foods and other Canadian grocery chains will expand its overall market share on Vancouver Island with majority control of the Quality Foods chain. The Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Group was announced last week as the new controlling shareholder in Quality Foods, buying up the interests of founding partners Ken Schley and John […] Read more
Why on earth would someone go into a bin with the auger running?
Reader can’t fathom why someone would do that, but safety expert explains it only takes a moment of carelessness
Reading Time: 3 minutes Editor’s note: The questions posed in the letter from Doug Burkard were passed on to Glen Blahey, agricultural health and safety specialist with the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association. Both the letter and response are below. I have just read the article “Trapped in a flash — the horror waiting inside a grain bin.” I was […] Read more
FMC buying much of DuPont’s crop protection business
FMC and DuPont have inked a deal that will see FMC pick up the portion of DuPont’s crop protection business the EU says must be divested for the DuPont-Dow merger to go ahead. In exchange DuPont will acquire FMC Health and Nutrition along with $1.2 billion (all figures U.S. funds) in cash. FMC will acquire […] Read more
Ukraine farmers examine Canadian agriculture co-ops
A delegation of Ukrainian farmers were visiting agriculture co-ops this week, looking to see if the approach can benefit their grain businesses in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. In Ontario they visited Agris Co-op and Great Lakes Grain in Chatham, Agrico fertilizer storage outside London, an Agromart retail operation in Wellburn, and the Donkers’ dairy goat farm […] Read more
Manitoba announces new appointments to its disaster assistance appeal board
The Manitoba government has appointed two new members to the Disaster Assistance Appeal Board (DAAB). “The Disaster Assistance Appeal Board plays an important role for Manitobans, providing an independent, non-judicial review of disputed claims,” said , Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen in a release. “The two new members’ leadership skills, volunteer experience and history serving on […] Read more
Reprieve granted in India pulse fumigation dispute
The federal government has negotiated a short reprieve in the ongoing dispute with India over its reluctance to receive pulse imports that have not been fumigated with methyl bromide after March 31. In a statement issued Thursday, Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of International Trade announced pulse exports […] Read more
Manitoba’s southwest expecting ‘well above normal’ runoff
Manitoba is expecting normal to above-normal spring runoff except in the Souris River basin, which is looking at “above normal to well-above normal runoff potential.” Levels of spring flooding still depend on future weather conditions, Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen said Friday in the province’s March flood outlook, but the risk of overland flooding is “slightly […] Read more
Robin Hood flour pulled in E. coli probe
Federal health officials investigating over two dozen cases of E. coli poisoning across Canada are warning consumers to get rid of a certain batch of Robin Hood flour. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Tuesday issued a food recall warning for Robin Hood All-Purpose Flour, Original, distributed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. […] Read more