Crops
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) and its unionized conductors, engineers, trainmen and yardmen agreed Monday to binding arbitration in their contract talks, ending a strike the day after it began. The end of the strike, which began Sunday just after midnight, comes under the threat of federal back-to-work legislation, which was due to be tabled Monday […] Read more
CP engineers, conductors halt strike
Railway back-to-work legislation going to Commons
Back-to-work legislation to halt a day-old strike by engineers and conductors at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) is scheduled for introduction Monday in the House of Commons. Federal Labour Minister Kellie Leitch is booked on the Commons’ order paper for Monday to introduce “An Act to provide for the continuation and resumption of rail service operations.” […] Read more
U.S. labour secretary to help reach West Coast port deal
Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez will travel to California to help broker an agreement between shipping companies and dockworkers in a dispute that has led to a partial shutdown of ports along the U.S. West Coast, the White House said on Saturday. The move by the Obama administration came after […] Read more
CP’s engineers, conductors on strike
Engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmen for Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) are on strike after 11th-hour talks ended Saturday night without a new agreement. “Picket lines are now being set up across Canada and the rail shutdown is happening,” Doug Finnson, president of the workers’ union, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), said in a release […] Read more
CN reaches tentative labour deal with engineers
Canadian National Railway’s (CN) 1,800-odd locomotive engineers will remain on the job until April at least, after tentatively agreeing to a new three-year labour deal with the company. The agreement, reached Saturday, now goes to a ratification vote for the unionized engineers, represented by the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). Vote results are expected to […] Read more
Sharpen your pencil before deciding whether to spray
Determining the economic threshold on when it pays to spray is not cut and dried, says research economist
Reading Time: 2 minutes The decision on whether to spray or not can be a difficult one for producers, says an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development specialist, and the wrong decision can have serious financial consequences. “Today’s farm business managers wear many different hats, and mycology and entomology may not be their area of expertise,” said research economist Nevin […] Read more
U.S. approves first biotech apple that resists browning
Reuters — U.S. regulators on Friday approved what would be the first commercialized biotech apple, rejecting efforts by the organic industry and other GMO critics to block the new fruit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) approved two genetically engineered apple varieties designed to resist browning that have been […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans, corn, wheat rally to end week
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. soybean futures rose for the third consecutive day on Friday as demand for U.S. stocks of the oilseed remained strong while overseas buyers waited for supplies from the South American harvest to hit the market, traders said. Wheat futures jumped on a round of short covering but remained stuck in […] Read more
Canola council launches new online database
The Canola Council of Canada says the database offers ‘top science for your bottom line’
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canola Council of Canada has launched an online database, called the Canola Research Hub, to provide growers with the latest research findings to increase both productivity and profitability. “This is a first-of-its-kind technology transfer tool,” said Curtis Rempel, the council’s vice-president of crop production and innovation. “It will allow growers to access canola research […] Read more
Don’t expect diesel, fertilizer, and chemicals to match oil’s steep decline
Experts say it’s a mixed bag when it comes to input costs
Reading Time: 4 minutes Falling oil prices are bad news for energy producers, but that should be good news for farmers and other big users of fuel and energy-intensive products. “We’re paying 30 or 40 cents a litre less for gas today than we were three or four months ago,” said Michael Burt, director of industrial economic trends with […] Read more