Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill Inc. effectively navigated tumbling commodities markets and volatile currencies to turn in a 20 per cent gain in first-quarter profit, the privately held company said Wednesday. The Minnesota-based company’s grain and oilseed supply chain and energy businesses were standouts in the quarter ended Aug. 31, in stark […] Read more
Cargill Q1 profit jumps despite commodities slump
Group calls for sweeping changes to curb railways’ ‘monopolistic behaviour’
Crops Logistics Working Group wants penalties for not delivering rail cars and meaningful sharing of data
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ongoing assessment and better protection for small shippers are two ways to fix the grain transportation system. Those are two of eight recommendations made by the Crop Logistics Working Group as part of a review of the Canada Transportation Act. More on the Alberta Farmer: Eight fixes for an ailing grain shipping system The working group […] Read more
Eight fixes for an ailing grain shipping system
Reading Time: 3 minutes Here are excerpts from the Crop Logistics Working Group (CLWG) on its eight recommendations to improve the grain-handling and transportation system. The full report can be found here. Recommendation 1: Enhance Transparency in the Rail Market CLWG members request that the government encourage CN and CP to accurately report car order fulfilment data in a […] Read more
Grain freight minimums beneficial, but not seen as best solution
CNS Canada –– The Canadian government’s decision to extend its order-in-council requiring a minimum tonnage of grain shipped by the two major railways each week will benefit the ag industry — but it’s not the best solution out there, according to some participants. “Extending the minimum volume requirements through the coming winter and spring season […] Read more
Mandatory minimum grain handle extended
A new order-in-council will extend the federal government’s mandatory minimum weekly grain handle for Canada’s big two railways through March, just as the previous order expires. Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Saturday announced the mandatory minimums, which expired Saturday, are extended until March 28, 2015. The new order, however, adjusts the […] Read more
The ‘new’ wore off of ‘normal’ pretty quickly
The grain industry may have gotten a little too optimistic after last year’s whopper of a crop
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s easy to get a little giddy when things go much better than expected. For example, take last year’s bin buster of a crop. By any measure, it was an astounding production feat. Western Canadian farmers shattered all previous records on most major crops, growing a whopping 76 million tonnes, 50 per cent higher than […] Read more