Crops
Unionized engineers and conductors on Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CP) trains have served formal notice they’ll strike Sunday, barring a negotiated deal with the company. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents CP’s locomotive engineers, conductors, trainmen and yardmen, said Tuesday it’s notified CP that the affected workers will strike effective 12:01 a.m. Sunday “in […] Read more
CP conductors, engineers serve strike notice
U.S. grains: Wheat falls one per cent on USDA outlook
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell 1.5 per cent on Tuesday, declining for the first time in four sessions after the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a monthly report estimated world ending stocks larger than analysts anticipated. Soybean futures shed one per cent while corn was narrowly lower. Prices for all three crops […] Read more
Bulk shipping cost index sinks to 30-year lows
CNS Canada –– The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks global bulk shipping rates, has fallen to its lowest levels in 30 years, which should make North American grains and oilseeds more competitive in the international market. The index (BDI) was quoted Monday at 554 points, the lowest reading since records start in 1985. The index […] Read more
U.S. West Coast port operations resume, more labour talks scheduled
Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. West Coast port operations resumed in full on Monday after shipping companies suspended loading and unloading of freighters for the weekend, citing chronic cargo backups the shippers and dockworkers have blamed on each other during months of labour tensions. Reopening of the ports to cargo vessels idled by the […] Read more
Strike vote passes for CP engineers, conductors
Canadian Pacific Railway’s unionized conductors and engineers have voted to give themselves a trump card in talks with the company for a new contract. Eligible employees voted 93 per cent in favour of strike action “if necessary” to reach a negotiated settlement with the company, according to their union, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC). […] Read more
Brazil’s grain traders fear monopoly if rail merger allowed
Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazil’s grain industry association, Abiove, said on Monday the takeover of the main railway operator America Latina Logistica (ALL) by Rumo, the logistic arm of the biggest sugar and ethanol producer Cosan, could create a monopoly and hurt competition. Cade, Brazil’s antitrust agency, is due to rule Wednesday on the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy rise on short-covering ahead of USDA report
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn and soybean futures edged higher on Monday, lifted by investor short-covering and position-squaring ahead of the monthly U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand report due on Tuesday. USDA said earlier that top soybean importer China purchased 120,000 tonnes of the grain within 24 hours, while analysts at AgRural […] Read more
New forage research papers available online
Three new papers look at tall fescue, barley after perennial forages, and slender wheat grass
Reading Time: < 1 minute The website ForageBeef.ca has added some new research papers to its collection. Yield and nutritive value of irrigated tall fescue compared with orchardgrass: In monocultures or mixed with alfalfa. This work is by Donald Thompson of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre and can be read here. Barley yield and nutrient uptake in rotation after […] Read more
CWB building sold: reports
CNS Canada — The former Canadian Wheat Board’s downtown Winnipeg office building has been sold, according to media reports. The eight-story building on Main Street was bought by Calgary-based Hopewell Development, reportedly for $9.7 million. The former wheat board, now called CWB, will continue to lease two floors of the building. The sale was initially […] Read more
‘River of rain’ begins falling on drought-stricken California
Los Angeles | Reuters — A so-called “atmospheric river of rain” began falling on northern California on Friday, bringing worries about flash floods, high winds and mudslides but offering little relief to a state left parched by several years of drought. The storm, also known as a “Pineapple Express” because it results from a ribbon […] Read more