Canadian Pacific Railway will have to give as well as receive this winter, by way of a $1.31 million contribution to Prairie grain research, federal officials have ordered. The Canadian Transportation Agency on Thursday found Calgary-based CP’s total grain handle for the 2010-11 crop year came in at $443,822,775, or $1,252,034 above the railway’s CTA-imposed […] Read more
CP over limit on Prairie grain revenue
Inquest launched in B.C. mushroom farm deaths
A long-sought public inquest is now set to begin in May examining the deaths of three workers in 2008 at a Langley, B.C. mushroom farm. The B.C. Coroners Service said Tuesday it will begin its inquest May 7 in Burnaby on the deaths of Ut Tran, 35, Han Pham, 47 and Jimmy Chan, 55. The […] Read more
Feds back Quebec R+D for SRM removal equipment
A southern Quebec manufacturer of slaughter, cutting and deboning equipment has picked up over $400,000 in federal funds to develop new ways of removing specified risk materials (SRMs) from carcasses at abattoirs. Industries Riopel, based at Vallee-Jonction, about 65 km southeast of Quebec City in the Chaudiere-Appalaches district, will get over $404,000 from the federal […] Read more
Reorganizing grain service paid off, CP says
Canadian Pacific’s gauges of service to grain shippers show visible gains so far in 2011 after a retooling of the railway’s grain operations, the company reports. Empty order fulfillment, a metric that highlights rail car availability, is up 19 per cent, or 11,000 units, in the crop year-to-date compared to the year-earlier period, the Calgary […] Read more
Biodiesel plants seen as boon for Alberta
Canada’s biodiesel industry is about to get a boost with two new plants scheduled to be built in Alberta, and that’s seen as translating to good news for farmers seeking to diversify their revenue. Lynn Jacobson, vice-president of Alberta’s Wild Rose Agricultural Producers (WRAP), said the announcement of Michigan-based The Power Alternative (TPA) and a […] Read more
RFID best kept separate from cattle auctions’ software
A study of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems at cattle auction markets has found them best kept separate from other management software used at the auction sites. The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) on Friday released results from the second phase of its research project, aimed at evaluating the impact of fully-integrated RFID at 13 […] Read more
CP plans even longer trains in 2012, 2013
Longer rail sidings in several "key regions" of its network are expected to help Canadian Pacific Railway boost the length of its trains by over 10 per cent by the end of 2013. CP already operates intermodal trains up to 12,000 feet long, which it said is an increase of 40 per cent from 2008. […] Read more
Winter weights now allowed on S. Sask. highways
A short delay in the opening of southwestern Saskatchewan’s secondary highways to trucks bearing full winter weights is now over. The provincial highways ministry on Monday said winter weights are in effect "immediately" on all designated highways south of the Trans-Canada and west of Highway 39, which runs southeast from Moose Jaw through Weyburn to […] Read more
Fuel relief for farmers, truckers seen coming soon
Production increases and the re-opening of the Suncor refinery plant in Edmonton may soon provide relief from the headaches Western Canada’s diesel shortage have given farmers and truckers in recent weeks. Ted Stoner, vice-president of the western Canadian division of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, said problems with western Canadian diesel supply started in October. […] Read more
P.E.I. agency backed for beet ethanol plant
A company set up to develop a commercially viable way of using Prince Edward Island beets as an ethanol feedstock has been backed to build a demonstration-scale processing plant. Atlantec BioEnergy Corp., which for years has spearheaded a beet ethanol plan, on Friday was confirmed as receiving $340,512 from the federal Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency […] Read more
