Seven weeks after they were legislated back to work, Canadian Pacific Railway’s engineers and conductors have a federal arbitrator named to resolve their labour contract with the company. Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt on Thursday named Toronto lawyer William Kaplan to lead arbitration on a new contract between CP and the 4,800-odd railway employees represented […] Read more
Feds name arbitrator for CP labour talks
Off-patent ag chem maker buys Prairie distributor
A Des Moines-area manufacturer of off-patent ag herbicides and pesticides plans to bring 16 of its wares into Canada’s West by buying a Prairie ag chemical distributor. Albaugh, Inc., which runs a manufacturing plant north of Kansas City and supplies the generic glyphosate Clearout 41 Plus in Canada through Farmers of North America (FNA), on […] Read more
Feds back merger of livestock traceability data
The federal government will put up half a million dollars to create a single national data management system for livestock traceability in Canada. Pierre Lemieux, the federal parliamentary secretary for agriculture, announced the funding for the creation of a new single system, Canadian Agri-Traceability Services (CATS), on Friday at the Calgary Stampede. CATS will provide […] Read more
Manitoba ag lending agency lifts limits on loans
Manitoba’s provincial farm lending agency has raised its ceiling on farm loans and stripped out several of its limits on who can apply for financing and why. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) announced changes to its lending mandate Thursday that "will help more farmers access long-term, fixed-rate financing and initiatives for young farmers that MASC […] Read more
Biodiesel fraud roils U.S. industry
Jennifer Case had big plans for expansion of her small San Diego plant that turns used restaurant cooking oil into biodiesel fuel after it sold out its entire production of about 1.5 million gallons in 2011. By the end of the year, business had taken a "devastating turn," Case told lawmakers at a Capitol Hill […] Read more
Health Canada to probe wind turbine noise
Health Canada plans its own primary research to paint “a more complete picture” of the potential health impacts on rural Canadians from life near wind turbine farms. The federal department on Tuesday announced it will work with Statistics Canada on a new peer-reviewed study, for completion sometime in 2014, on “the relationship between wind turbine […] Read more
Pearce: New front-boom sprayers offer several benefits
Until now, there are those in the sprayer business who’d say the industry can be something of a pain in the neck. But that notion is set to change with the launch of the Guardian self-propelled front boom sprayer from New Holland. Technicians, specialists and sales staff from the Great Lakes New Holland dealerships at […] Read more
Morris pilots new leasing program
Saskatchewan farm equipment maker Morris Industries has rolled out a pilot program offering leases on its bale carriers and heavy harrows. The Morris Leasing program, announced last week at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina, will be available on the company’s Field Pro heavy harrows and ProAg hay hauling products — and only for its […] Read more
Pearce: Salford planting seeds for expansion
In a sector dominated by U.S. name brands in farm equipment, and an increasing number of European players coming to the market, Salford Tillage and Seeding Systems is practically in a class by itself. Easily one of the most successful Canadian farm equipment manufacturers, the company recently cut the ribbon on its latest plant expansion, […] Read more
Pearce: Fendt aims for broad definition of ‘efficiency’
A two-day demonstration event brought roughly 300 producers to a farm near here to see the latest line of tractors from German manufacturer Fendt. The Ontario events are the second in a series of field demonstrations being organized across various parts of the continent. Admittedly, organizers with Fendt have chosen specific sites for their concentrations […] Read more
