Canadian harvesting equipment company MacDon is set to join the ag arm of industrial equipment and parts manufacturer Linamar. Guelph-based Linamar Corp., which markets the Harvestec brand of corn harvesting headers in North America, on Thursday announced a “definitive” agreement to buy 100 per cent of Winnipeg-based MacDon and its group of companies for $1.2 […] Read more
Harvestec owner Linamar set to buy MacDon
Brandt to buy first U.S. manufacturing plant
A Canadian farm and industrial equipment manufacturer is preparing to set up its first U.S. base to make farm equipment for U.S. corn and soybean growers. The Regina-based Brandt Group, whose farm equipment lines include loaders and skid steers as well as augers, conveyors and vacuums for grain handling, announced Friday it will buy a […] Read more
U.S. EPA ups biofuel targets slightly
Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it will require fuel companies to blend slightly more biofuels into the nation’s gasoline and diesel next year, angering oil refiners who view them as a competitive threat. The announcement follows weeks of lobbying by Midwestern lawmakers and representatives of the corn industry who wanted […] Read more
Diesel prices poised to rise in new year
CNS Canada — The lingering effects of two large hurricanes in the U.S. continue to be felt in the diesel market as harvest winds down throughout North America. In particular, Hurricane Harvey was a disruptive force on the U.S. energy market as it temporarily halted production at refineries. Both gas and diesel prices rose in […] Read more
Climate Corp. to partner with Canadian drone data firm
In a bid to bring its eye-in-the-sky views of clients’ fields closer to Earth, Monsanto’s Climate Corp. has struck up a partnership with a Canadian drone data provider. Climate on Nov. 15 announced an “official” partnership with Toronto-based Deveron UAS, which operates a fleet of drones serving farm clients across North America, to deliver “advanced” […] Read more
China to subsidize grain transportation, storage
Beijing | Reuters — China plans to subsidize grain transportation and storage facilities in the latest push by Beijing to modernize the world’s largest agriculture sector. Beijing will subsidize projects upgrading or building facilities to load and receive grains along main railways and ports for major waterways including the Yangtze and Pearl rivers, a document […] Read more
Federal programs set for Growing Forward sequel
Market development, product development and overall sector development are among the priorities in the federal government’s five-year funding plan for the ag sector. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, speaking Friday at Canadian Western Agribition in Regina, announced a $1 billion suite of six federally funded programs to roll out through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The Canadian […] Read more
OFA pre-election policy targets broader economic development
Stable rural areas and thriving farms can help urbanites with some of their biggest challenges. That’s the message from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture going into next year’s provincial election. The OFA talked about how it is framing its election strategy at its annual meeting, which ran Monday and Tuesday in Toronto. “With the election […] Read more
Renamed Seed Hawk now flies the flag of parent company
Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan equipment maker Seed Hawk has been rechristened as Vaderstad Industries Inc. The company was started in the tiny community of Langbank by farmer Pat Beaujot, his brother, and two friends in 1986. They were frustrated by the lack of suitable seeding equipment for no till at that time and decided to build their own […] Read more
Larger elevators, smaller rail cars seen in grain’s future
Winnipeg | CNS Canada –– Heading into the future, elevators will be more efficient and trains will carry more grain, according to industry professionals at the Grain World conference in Winnipeg. “I think there’s a real shift happening from low efficiency to the higher-efficiency facilities,” Karl Gerrand, CEO of G3, said Wednesday during the What […] Read more