Negotiations are officially completed and terms finalized on a free trade agreement between Canada and South Korea, with a long line of enthusiastic Canadian farm export sectors in their wake. A trade pact between the two countries has been in the works since they agreed to formal talks in 2005, but stalled for months at […] Read more
Farm groups hail field-levelling trade deal with Korea
CN, CP cut producer car sites
Canada’s big two railways recently cut 19 producer car loading sites across the West, even though farmers are using producer cars more than ever as they struggle to get a record crop to market. CP recently cut five sites, leaving 94, and CN cut 14, leaving 48. Farmers’ right to order and fill rail cars […] Read more
Railways expect to meet government’s order on grain
Canada’s big two railways expect to be able to meet the federal government’s new mandatory requirements for Prairie grain movement — but warn it will take further commitments all along the supply chain. Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway responded Friday to Transport Minister Lisa Raitt’s order-in-council, which immediately sets out minimum volumes […] Read more
Lallemand buys into BioBoost crop growth promoters
Bacteria and yeast processor Lallemand is expanding its reach in the crop care market in a “collaboration” with seed and crop input firm BrettYoung. Montreal-based Lallemand, whose specialty business including ag-related products is headquartered in France, announced Thursday it will buy the intellectual property rights and “associated assets” for BrettYoung’s biological products portfolio, including its […] Read more
Ottawa slaps Prairie grain volume quotas on railways
The federal government has imposed an immediate schedule of increasing mandatory minimum volumes of Prairie grain on Canada’s big two railways, subject to fines. Transport Minister Lisa Raitt on Friday announced an order-in-council, effective immediately, which sets out minimum volumes of grain that Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) are each required to […] Read more
More grain cars now would be ‘wrong thing,’ CP CEO says
Canadian Pacific Railway’s CEO has warned readers of Canada’s two national newspapers that adding more rail cars and locomotives now on CP track would serve only to worsen the grain backlog on the Prairies. Writing in full-page CP advertisements in Thursday’s Globe and Mail and National Post, Hunter Harrison said adding more cars to a […] Read more
BMO to cut Prairie farmers slack on loans
BMO Bank of Montreal plans to offer Prairie farmers a “relief program” including options for loan payment deferrals and other breaks in view of the ongoing grain handling backlog. “We want to provide immediate support to any grain producers and other related businesses that may be experiencing cash flow disruptions as a result of the […] Read more
Hog code calls for group sow housing, pain control for piglets
Animal welfare advocates call Canada’s new code of practice for the care and handling of pigs — which commits farmers who follow it to adopt group housing for sows in any new barns built after July this year — a “watershed moment” for the industry. The revised code, replacing the previous version released in 1993, […] Read more
Lethbridge Inland Terminal sale clears regulators
Federal regulators have cleared the road for Viterra to complete its takeover of southern Alberta’s farmer-owned Lethbridge Inland Terminal. Regina-based Viterra, the Canadian grain handling arm of Swiss commodity giant Glencore Xstrata, announced Friday it has now picked up “all pertinent shareholder and regulatory approvals” to buy LIT for an undisclosed sum. LIT, which operates […] Read more
Cereal, pulse treatment cleared for on-farm application
Cereal and pulse crop growers have been cleared for on-farm application of one of Syngenta’s neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments, for control of pests such as wireworm and pea leaf weevil. Syngenta Canada last week announced it had picked up federal registration for on-farm application of its Cruiser 5FS seed treatment to cereal and pulse seed, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
