Law tabled Tuesday may impose arbitrated service pacts, fines for violations
Grain farmers hail rail freight service enforcement
Ottawa to unveil bill to improve rail service Tuesday
Canada’s federal government will unveil long-awaited legislation on rail freight service on Tuesday in Winnipeg, the heart of the country’s grain sector. The legislation, as an amendment to Canada’s Transportation Act, has pitted shippers like grain handlers, miners and movers of commercial goods, against railways Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. The shippers want […] Read more
Alta. livestock groups roll out ‘livestock ER’ trailers
Alberta’s livestock organizations have rolled out a new fleet of livestock handling equipment trailers for use in emergency situations. The trailers are to be stationed in four "key areas" of the province based on animal movement volumes and the groups’ co-ordination plans, along with a "roaming" unit for use provincewide. A new training course is […] Read more
Sask. road loads raised for winter on Dec. 1
Grain and livestock truckers using Saskatchewan’s secondary-weight highways will be able to haul the same weights as on its primary highways starting Dec. 1. When highway roadbeds freeze, both primary and secondary weight highways have the same strength and can handle heavier loads without damage. Farmers and other rural-based businesses are thus among the shippers […] Read more
CNH, Fiat Industrial to merge
International farm and construction equipment manufacturer CNH, itself formed from the merger of Case IH, New Holland and Steyr, is poised to merge with its majority owner in a new, yet-to-be-named company. Fiat Industrial, which spun off last year from automaker Fiat and is the 88 per cent majority owner of CNH Global, on Monday […] Read more
Manitoba to build more leeway into roads’ load limits
Seasonal highway load limits that govern when Manitoba farmers can move large loads of grain or livestock may soon be based more on the actual weather than on the calendar. The provincial government said Friday it will introduce amendments to its Highway Traffic Act allowing farmers and other businesses to roll heavier trucks sooner, if […] Read more
Irradiating ground beef a decade-old hot potato
Staff with Canada’s cattle producer body once thought it would be just a matter of time before Canadian food companies would get the green light to start irradiating ground beef. That was a decade ago, when the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association submitted a petition to Health Canada seeking regulatory approval for use of irradiation as another […] Read more
U.S. upholds ethanol mandate
The United States on Friday upheld its program to turn a large share of the corn crop into ethanol for motor fuel, saying it did not cause undue economic harm despite steep competition for depleted U.S. grain supplies after the worst drought in 50 years. In August, as drought seared the Midwest, the governors of […] Read more
Farmers seek ‘smarter’ equipment, crops
Farm leaders, asked about their "innovation needs" for the next decade, want to see their machinery get "smarter" — but not necessarily smart enough to take the wheel. The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) recently released results from a "vision session" with about 30 "agriculture leaders" from across Saskatchewan, representing producer groups, processors and manufacturers. […] Read more
Pearce: New autonomous tractor designs turn heads
More equipment manufacturers are introducing their latest offerings to the autonomous tractor system that Deere introduced (in Canada) in 2011, with Kinze and the Spirit the latest to join the trend. Specifically, Kinze Manufacturing introduced its new system in an experimental exhibition at its headquarters in Iowa, in 2011 while the makers of the Spirit […] Read more
