Agrium, Olds College and global satellite communications corporation MDA have submitted an application to the federal government to form an agrifood “supercluster.” The Liberal government committed up to $950 million (over five years) in its March budget to create hubs that would focus on key economic sectors in an effort to kickstart investment, boost exports […] Read more
Trio of groups proposes Alberta-based agrifood ‘supercluster’
New record set for Prairie grain throughput in 2016-17
Western Canada’s grain industry moved a record volume of grain in the 2016-17 crop year that ended July 31 and is gearing up to ship this year’s crop, expected to be the smallest in four years. Export terminals at Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Thunder Bay put through 35.945 million tonnes of grain last crop year, […] Read more
U.S. farmers confused by Monsanto’s Xtendimax instructions
Chicago | Reuters — With Monsanto’s latest flagship weed killer, dicamba, banned in Arkansas and under review by U.S. regulators over concerns it can drift in the wind, farmers and weed scientists are also complaining that confusing directions on the label make the product hard to use safely. Dicamba, sold under different brand names by […] Read more
Online livestock supply store expands reach west
An Ontario livestock nutrition firm’s venture into online retail for producers is expanding into the Prairie provinces with four pickup and ordering points in the region. Cambridge, Ont.-based GVF Group announced Thursday its Farmers Farmacy business, previously available only to producers in Ontario, the Maritime provinces and Quebec, now also serves Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. […] Read more
DuPont to buy up farm software firm Granular
A San Francisco company providing farm management software to growers in four provinces and about three dozen states is poised to join the digital arm of DuPont and Dow’s merged agribusiness. DuPont — which as of last week had all regulatory approvals and clearances lined up to complete its merger with Dow Chemical — announced […] Read more
CN conductors ratify labour deal
An 11th-hour labour deal that averted a strike in late May by conductors and yard crews for Canadian National Railway has been ratified. Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference’s Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons union (TCRC-CTY) have voted in favour of a three-year agreement retroactive to July 23, 2016, CN said Tuesday. The deal “provides […] Read more
So long AIM — it was another good run
It’s all over now except for the crying, folks. Ag In Motion (AIM) 2017 is history. And really the only crying that might be done, is by the dedicated volunteers and employees of the show who stay on the AIM grounds near Langham, SK for another 10 days to two weeks to clean up and […] Read more
Aerial crop sprayers grounded in Western Canada
CNS Canada — Aerial crop sprayers are spending more time on the ground than in the air in Western Canada this season, with hot and dry weather limiting disease pressures and changing the economic threshold for insect applications. “The crops came out of the ground very aggressively and good, but there was a prolonged hot […] Read more
AIM for Hart, Day 2: The road to success, one scoop at a time
I announced yesterday to a couple colleagues who work for the Western Producer, “We are wasting our time and energies writing stories. What idiots. If we want real financial success in life — sell ice cream.” That was my take home message from Day 2 (Wednesday) at the Ag In Motion (AIM) farm show near […] Read more
AIM for Hart: An informative first day
It’s official. If you want your province to dry out call Charles Schmidt. This climatological fact was among the many things I learned at the first day of the 2017 Ag In Motion (AIM) farm show near Langham, Sask. Tuesday (about 20 minutes from Saskatoon — the show is still running Wednesday and Thursday, so […] Read more
