Osaka | Reuters — Japan’s Kubota Corp. plans to sell powerful, large tractors in North America and Europe next year, its president said on Wednesday, challenging farm equipment industry leader Deere and Co. Yasuo Masumoto, president of Japan’s biggest farm equipment maker, told Reuters Kubota was seeking a joint venture with a European or U.S. […] Read more
Japan’s Kubota eyes U.S. fields with larger tractors
Feds, grain groups back project to gauge grain traffic flow
Faced with a massive grain backlog on the Prairies, a clutch of grain and oilseed shipper groups and the federal government are putting cash into a project they hope will turn up new efficiencies in the grain supply chain. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz dropped into Winnipeg Tuesday to pledge over $1.5 million from the […] Read more
Rail congestion stymies Man. company’s U.S. crusher
A Manitoba company’s new canola processing plant on the U.S. West Coast has locked in demand from the biofuel sector for its canola oil — but has run up against a supply logjam. Pacific Coast Canola (PCC), the U.S. arm of Winnipeg-based Legumex Walker, on Wednesday announced a six-month contract to provide Seattle-based Imperium Renewables […] Read more
Minogue: Undercurrent of frustration pervades at CropSphere
Just months after a record-setting harvest, delegates nodded as market analyst Larry Webber told Saskatchewan farmers at CropSphere in Saskatoon, “Everything is not rosy in the country.” Frustration is building as many farmers are taking large price discounts to sell their grain into a congested transportation system and other farmers are unable to sell their […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Logistics issues weigh on canola
ICE Futures Canada canola contracts declined to fresh lows during the week ended Wednesday, and could be headed lower still as logistics issues in Western Canada continue to weigh on values. The losses in canola came despite a rally in CBOT soybeans and sharp declines in the Canadian dollar relative to its U.S. counterpart. Those […] Read more
Cold, wet weather may help spread deadly piglet virus: USDA
Frigid temperatures across a large swath of the U.S. this week, followed by warmer conditions, could aid the spread of a fatal pig disease now in 22 states, affecting hundreds of thousands of pigs, a swine veterinarian said on Thursday. “The virus likes cold, wet and cloudy days,” said Rodney Baker, a swine veterinarian at […] Read more
AGI ties equipment brands together
Grain growers and livestock producers looking for new equipment from the Ag Growth International (AGI) group of manufacturers can expect to look for new logos. Winnipeg-based AGI on Thursday announced a “rebrand initiative” in which the company’s grain and livestock handling equipment and grain storage brands — Batco, Westfield, Wheatheart, Hi Roller, Union Iron, HSI, […] Read more
RFID tagging on cattle best left for warmer weather
Research into why radio frequency ID (RFID) tags sometimes just won’t stay put on cattle’s ears has found very cold temperatures have a “profound effect” on tag strength. Use of RFID tags is now mandated through the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) for traceability of individual cattle from birth through to slaughter. Several forms of […] Read more
CP to shed U.S. Plains grain track
Over 1,000 km of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) track, used mainly to haul grain across South Dakota, are set to be sold as the company streamlines its U.S. operations. CP on Thursday announced a deal to sell the western portion of its Dakota, Minnesota + Eastern (DM+E) line to Connecticut-based shortline operator Genesee + Wyoming […] Read more
BNSF reopens tracks after wreck in N. Dakota
BNSF Railway Co. said it reopened the two mainline tracks that it shut after a crude oil train exploded after it hit a derailed grain train earlier in the week. The company said in an advisory to customers that it reopened one track at 3 a.m. CT and the other at 3:15 a.m. on Thursday. […] Read more
