Canada’s big two railways can resume moving grain at their own pace as the federal government’s order in council setting mandatory minimum grain traffic quotas is set to expire unrenewed. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt announced the federal government won’t renew the mandatory minimums, which are due to expire Saturday. The […] Read more
Railways’ mandatory minimum grain handles ending
Alta. cuts ag spending slightly, boosts fuel tax
Alberta’s bid to stabilize its public-sector revenue and spending will include slight cuts to its farm programs budget, plus an increase in provincial fuel tax from which farmers won’t be exempt. Finance Minister Robin Campbell on Thursday released a 2015-16 budget that pegs expenses for Alberta’s agriculture and rural development department at $931 million, down […] Read more
CNH to cut, lay off staff in Saskatoon
Under pressure from “market conditions,” farm equipment giant CNH plans both job cuts and layoffs at its Flexi-Coil seeding and tillage equipment plant in Saskatoon. CNH Industrial said in a statement it will begin cutting 75 full-time positions at the plant in May. Employees were informed Monday of the coming cuts, the company said. Another […] Read more
Raitt won’t tell railways where to ship grain for now
Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government will not, for now, start telling railways where to ship farmers’ grain but it will decide within days whether to extend its requirements on how much grain they must haul, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said Wednesday. In an interview in her parliamentary office, Raitt said farmers and shippers […] Read more
Transport Canada seeks CN safety plan after derailments
Toronto | Reuters — Regulator Transport Canada has issued a notice to Canadian National Railway (CN) requesting a plan to ensure safety along its main line’s Ruel subdivision, where three trains derailed in fewer than 30 days in February and March, the railway said Wednesday. The notice, given on March 12 but not previously reported, was […] Read more
CN says harsh winter one reason for spike in 2014 accidents
Ottawa | Reuters — An unusually harsh winter is one of the reasons Canadian National Railway (CN) suffered a sharp increase in the number of train accidents in 2014, a top official said Tuesday. Chief operating officer Jim Vena told a committee of federal legislators that deep cold can cause rails and wheels to crack. […] Read more
P.E.I. to offer one-time farm truck registration fee
Prince Edward Island’s farmers, starting next month, will be able pay a one-time fee to register their farm trucks for as long as they own them. The province until now has charged a cut-rate annual registration fee of $10 on trucks weighing at least one ton (10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more), if the trucks […] Read more
WeatherFarm boosts local-level data for farmers
Prairie weather network WeatherFarm has moved to expand the data it can provide to farmers through its new daily email. The network, operated by ag meteorology firm Weather Innovations Consulting (WIN) in partnership with Glacier Farmmedia, owners of this website, gets its data mainly from over 1,100 weather stations set up at farms, grain elevators […] Read more
CN shopcraft staff ratify labour deal
Updated, March 18 — Unionized rail car and locomotive repair, maintenance and inspection staff at Canadian National Railway (CN) have approved the 11th-hour deal that kept them from being locked out last month. CN, in a release Tuesday, said members of its shopcraft group of about 2,100 employees, represented by Unifor Local 100R, have voted […] Read more
Four Unifor locals ratify deals with CN
Four of five groups of Canadian National Railway (CN) employees have voted to ratify the new collective labour deals that kept them from being locked out last month. CN said Monday its unionized clerical/intermodal/fleet mechanic, CNTL and excavator-operator units, all represented by Unifor locals, have all voted in favour of agreements with 51-month terms. The […] Read more
