It’s July 2 — the day after Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) came into effect. You’ve just started a new job. Your predecessor left behind a binder containing the business cards of clients. You start your day by sending out emails to the addresses on those cards to introduce yourself and to ask if you can […] Read more
CASL Defenses, Part 2: The ifs, ands and buts of new anti-spam legislation
CASL Defenses, Part 3: Anti-spam law touches off ironic flurry of email
If you are weary of receiving requests to stay on or get on mailing lists from Canadian companies, don’t worry – it should stop in a few days. In fact, it must stop by July 1, because after that, companies that send emails asking for your express consent to receive emails, newsletters and other commercial […] Read more
BNSF, CP ordered to report U.S. grain shipping plans
Reuters — U.S. officials ordered BNSF Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to report by Friday their plans to clear a backlog of grain cars after months of service delays blamed on harsh winter weather and high freight demand. The U.S. Surface Transportation Board decision filed late last week also ordered that the two class […] Read more
CWB makes bid for independent SW Sask. grain handler
Shareholders in southwestern Saskatchewan’s Great Sandhills Terminal are expected to meet this summer to consider a $17.4 million offer from the grain firm formerly known as the Canadian Wheat Board. CWB on Monday announced an all-cash $581.98 per share offer for all shares in the independent firm, which operates an high-throughput inland grain terminal on […] Read more
Prairie seed grower and inventor Harvey Gjesdal, 92
Funeral services will be held Wednesday at Birch Hills, Sask. for farm equipment inventor, seed grower and long-time Grainews columnist Harvey Gjesdal. Gjesdal, who died Friday at Birch Hills at age 92, was prominent for decades among Prairie farmers, in part for patents on equipment still in widespread use today, including the Gjesdal “Five-in-One” rotary […] Read more
Arbitrator sets out labour deal for CN conductors
Updated, June 23, 2014 — Binding terms are now in place for a few years’ labour peace between Canadian National Railway (CN) and its conductors and yardpeople. CN announced Friday it has received, and will “immediately” start carrying out, the decisions made by federally-appointed arbitrator Michel Picher. Picher’s rulings are binding on the company and on […] Read more
New clubroot pathotype confirmed, can stump resistant canolas
A second round of tests on a clubroot pathotype found in the Edmonton area confirms it’s a new type that can beat canola varieties bred for clubroot resistance. “This is a different pathotype that none of the commercially available clubroot-resistant varieties in Western Canada are effective at managing,” plant pathologist Stephen Strelkov of the University […] Read more
Anti-spam rules to weigh on all commercial email
Farmers who market their wares directly to customers by email will need to rethink their efforts come July 1, as new federal anti-spam legislation takes effect. If you’re already on a company or ag association’s email list for newsletters or promotions, you’ve likely had email lately asking you to provide consent to continue to receive […] Read more
EU agrees on plan to cap use of food-based biofuels
Luxembourg | Reuters — EU energy ministers agreed on Friday to limit production of biofuels made from food crops, responding to criticism they stoke inflation and do more environmental harm than good. The ministers’ endorsement of a compromise deal overcomes a stalemate hit late last year, when European Union governments failed to agree on a […] Read more
Pearce: UAV system adds immediacy to crop diagnostics
When Felix Weber brought the Swinglet Cam to market about three years ago, the capability for “reading” a crop’s progress through different imagining cameras was considered revolutionary. Adoption of the technology has been slow, though, with early innovators spreading the message. This year, senseFly, manufacturer of the Swinglet Cam, has introduced the eBee Ag system, […] Read more
