Canadian Pacific Railway, under continued pressure from an activist shareholder to boost its performance, has obliged by quadrupling its first-quarter profit. Ahead of a shareholder vote of confidence at its annual meeting next month, Calgary-based CP on Friday booked net income of $142 million on $1.376 billion in revenues for its first quarter ending March […] Read more
CP books jump in Q1 profits under pressure
Man. plans farm fuel tax, manure system tax credit
CORRECTED, April 18, 2012 — A new three-cent-per-litre tax on marked gasoline, and a new tax credit for manure management systems, are in the first budget by Manitoba’s former agriculture minister. Line items in provincial Finance Minister Stan Struthers’ budget, delivered Tuesday, included ongoing support for Manitoba Hydro projects, such as Bipole III, and an […] Read more
Grain traffic backed to take Hudson Bay route
The move to deregulate nearly the only user of the Hudson Bay port of Churchill, Man. will come with per-tonne incentives for shippers who continue to ship grain on that route. Speaking Friday in Tisdale, Sask. to the annual meeting of the Hudson Bay Route Association, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz formally launched a five-year, $25 […] Read more
Corn ethanol production seen hitting plateau
Corn-based ethanol’s dream days are over, says the chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Starting this year, the industry will plateau at an annual output of 15 billion gallons (56.8 billion litres), marking the end of a seven-year growth spurt that saw its corn purchases grow by an average 500 million bushels a […] Read more
Paterson to distribute seed for biofuel crop
Grain handler Paterson Grain has been tapped to handle contracting and distribution for Canada’s first commercial variety of an oilseed aimed at the biofuel processing market. Saskatoon-based Agrisoma Biosciences on Tuesday named Winnipeg’s Paterson as its long-term partner for identity-preserved distribution of Resonance, a carinata variety developed for the Prairies’ brown soil zone. Resonance, the […] Read more
E-application system for crop cash advances goes offline
The new administrator for federal cash advances on Prairie wheat, durum and barley has asked growers to phone in their applications as its website is in mid-overhaul. The Canadian Canola Growers Association — which already handled administration for the federal agriculture department’s Advance Payments Program (APP) on canola and 16 other field crops in some […] Read more
Agriculture department grazed in federal cost-cutting
Consolidation of "back-office functions," streamlining of operations, reduction of costs and shedding of assets are on the agenda over the next three years in Canada’s agriculture ministry. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, releasing the Conservative government’s 2012 budget on Thursday, announced plans that will see the federal agriculture portfolio’s overall annual budget reduced from current levels […] Read more
Canada launches trade talks with Japan, eyes Thailand deal
Canadian ag commodity groups are hailing the decision by Canada and Japan to launch formal negotiations toward a free trade agreement. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement Sunday in Tokyo during a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Yoshihiko Noda, two days after announcing Canada will pursue "exploratory discussions" toward a free trade deal with […] Read more
CFIA widens burger recall from Saskatoon plant
An E. coli-related recall of ground beef from a shuttered Saskatoon burger processing plant has been widened to over 135 products made between last July and mid-February this year. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday rolled out an expanded list of products including retail brands such as PC, Western Family, Best Value, Calgary Stampede, […] Read more
Heated flax meal sparks Man. processor fire
Overheated flax meal is blamed for a fire that’s caused seven-figure damages at a major flax processing plant in western Manitoba. RCMP from nearby Russell, Man. report no one was injured when the Glanbia Nutritionals plant at Angusville., about 120 km southeast of Yorkton, Sask., caught fire Tuesday morning. Manitoba’s Office of the Fire Commissioner […] Read more
