A price index that helps set how much Canada’s big two railways can make per year hauling Prairie grain will be pared back, based on lower-than-expected diesel fuel costs. The Canadian Transportation Agency, which sets the annual Prairie grain revenue caps for Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways, announced Monday it has pegged the volume-related […] Read more
Lower diesel prices trim grain freight rate index
CP books higher Q1 grain revenue on less grain
Higher grain and fertilizer revenues per carload trumped “challenging winter conditions” as Canadian Pacific Railway booked its highest-ever first-quarter (Q1) gross in the period ending March 31. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday reported a profit of $217 million on gross revenues of $1.495 billion in its latest Q1, up from $142 million on $1.34 billion in […] Read more
MacDon reported seeking buyer via auction
Winnipeg’s MacDon Industries, one of North America’s largest manufacturers of windrowers, is looking for a buyer in a deal that could fetch around US$1 billion, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters last week. The family-owned company specializes in making pull-type and self-propelled windrowers and specialty and pick-up headers for combines. Its disc, auger […] Read more
Cold, snow in West chill CN’s Q1 grain handle
Suffering congestion from “extreme cold and heavy snow in Western Canada” in its first fiscal quarter, Canadian National Railway (CN) has prescribed itself “capacity enhancements” on the Prairies. The company on Monday reported net income of $555 million on $2.466 billion in revenues in its first quarter (Q1) ending March 31, down from $775 million […] Read more
Cattlemen seek restart on approval process for irradiation
A long-dormant petition to allow ionizing irradiation as a way to control bacteria and other pathogens in Canadian beef may soon be back on the front burner. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said Monday it expects “in the coming week” to submit paperwork — at the request of Health Canada — that would “reactivate the process” […] Read more
Pearce: “Dust-off” in pesticides has farmers’ attention
Widespread concern about bees, and the possible connection to the use of dry lubricants and neonicotinoid insecticides, has been generating a number of responses in the agricultural community. For the past 18 months, media reports have singled out agriculture in general, and seed treatments and the use of insecticides in particular, as a possible cause […] Read more
Eight Mississippi River locks to close due to flood
Eight Mississippi River locks between Muscatine, Iowa, and Clarksville, Missouri, were expected to close beginning on Friday as the rain-swollen waterway rises above flood stage, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday. Corn and soybean prices at Gulf of Mexico export terminals jumped by at least US10 cents a bushel as the closures of […] Read more
Manitoba caps school tax rebate for farmland
Manitoba farmers who get rebates on the education portion of the property taxes paid on farmland will see a lid placed on those rebates starting with this tax year. Finance Minister Stan Struthers’ budget on Tuesday capped Manitoba’s farmland school tax rebate at $5,000 — and also limited it to eligible farmland owners who are […] Read more
Richardson cleared for West Coast terminal expansion
Grain handler Richardson International plans to start work “immediately” on a $120 million, 80,000-tonne storage expansion project at its North Vancouver terminal after getting the go-ahead from Port Metro Vancouver. The Winnipeg company’s expansion, announced in October and billed as “the biggest investment in the Port of Vancouver in more than 20 years,” will see […] Read more
Sask. launches Growing Forward sequel’s programs
Saskatchewan has become the fourth province to sign on for its share of funding in the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) ag policy funding framework, with $388 million to put toward programs other than business risk management (BRM) over the next five years. Provincial Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart and his federal counterpart Gerry Ritz announced the […] Read more
