Barge shipping on the middle Mississippi River returned to normal on Thursday for the first time since December as rain and snowmelt revived the drought-hit waterway and government engineers completed a two-month riverbed rock removal project. The worst U.S. drought in a half century sapped the major shipping artery and fuelled concerns that barge shipments […] Read more
Mississippi River rock removal project completed
Clubroot found in Manitoba soils
Testing has confirmed levels of clubroot capable of producing disease in two soil samples collected from Manitoba canola fields last year, provincial officials say. "It is significant in that we can no longer consider ourselves free of clubroot in Manitoba," said Holly Derksen, a plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ soils and […] Read more
Canada to end biofuel subsidy in 2017, report says
The Canadian government plans to end its subsidy for production of biofuels when its current program ends in 2017, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The Globe and Mail quoted a letter from Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver to the biofuels industry on Thursday explaining that Ottawa needed to cut spending to tame its deficit. Oliver […] Read more
Versatile expands into toyland
Winnipeg tractor maker Versatile has expanded its product line into the smallest of small-scale equipment. The company on Thursday announced a new line of scale-model toys developed by Tokyo toy manufacturer Tomy and Iowa-based Ertl, which already makes licensed die-cast scale models of John Deere, Case IH and New Holland farm equipment. Come April, the […] Read more
U.S. ethanol groups decry EU tariff as ‘blatant protectionism’
Two U.S. biofuel trade groups on Tuesday lambasted a European Union decision to impose a tariff on U.S.-made ethanol as a protectionist move and said they would challenge the tariff "in every way possible." The 9.5 per cent tariff on imports of U.S. ethanol was approved on Monday by the Council of the European Union. […] Read more
Iogen to shed processing enzyme business
Ottawa biotech firm Iogen Corp. plans to tighten its focus on cellulosic ethanol by shedding its other business, making and selling enzymes for brewers, grain processors, feed millers and other industries. Danish industrial enzyme maker Novozymes plans to buy Iogen’s industrial enzyme business, Iogen Bio-Products, for $67.5 million plus up to $12.5 million in "earn-out" […] Read more
Deere sees modest rise in farm equipment sales
Deere and Co., the world’s largest farm equipment maker, forecast a modest increase in sales this year despite the prospect of the biggest corn crop in U.S. history, falling short of analysts’ expectations and sending its shares down three per cent. Shares of the company, which also makes excavators, dump trucks and log harvesters, fell […] Read more
National dairy farm biosecurity standard launched
Canada’s food safety agency has formally introduced its biosecurity standard designed specifically for the Canadian dairy farm. Launched Tuesday, the voluntary biosecurity standard maps out dairy farmers’ "control areas" and target outcomes in the areas of animal health management, animal movement, premises management and conditions for workers, visitors, vehicles and equipment. The standard, designed to […] Read more
Scoular buying into Prairie grain handling
Omaha’s Scoular Co. plans to bankroll and operate a new grain handling facility in Saskatchewan’s southeast corner for quick access to U.S. and Mexican processors. Scoular was announced Tuesday as the funding partner, owner and operator for the grain handling portion of a new, $90 million commodity logistics hub to be built on the North […] Read more
CN settles out of court with CP over ex-CEO
A court case pitting Canada’s two major railways against each other over CP’s hiring of a former CN CEO has been settled — just as another CN executive jumps to join him. CN (Canadian National Railway) on Monday announced it has "settled its differences" with CP (Canadian Pacific Railway) and with CP’s new CEO Hunter […] Read more
