CNS Canada — After Manitoba in 2017 grew its largest edible bean crop in more than a decade, a downturn could be expected in 2018. However, new-crop pricing opportunities look favourable and industry participants say it’s still too early to get a firm sense on seeding intentions. “The pinto market is long in terms of […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Manitoba bean acres depend on soy
Minnesota joins U.S. states limiting dicamba
Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota became the latest U.S. state on Tuesday to restrict controversial weed killers made by Monsanto and BASF that were linked to widespread crop damage, while Arkansas took a step back from imposing new limits. The U.S. has faced an agricultural crisis this year caused by new versions of the herbicides, […] Read more
Syngenta agrees to settle GMO corn litigation
Reuters — Syngenta has agreed to pay close to US$1.5 billion to resolve lawsuits stemming from its decision to commercialize a genetically modified strain of corn before China approved importing it, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The Swiss company confirmed that it has reached a settlement, without confirming the financial terms. […] Read more
Second incidence of waterhemp found in Manitoba
A second case of waterhemp — a noxious weed which, in many places in Ontario and the U.S., is resistant to glyphosate, Group 2 herbicides or both — has been found in Manitoba. Waterhemp (amaranthus tuberculatus), which resembles redroot pigweed and is in the same family, was first found in a soybean field southeast of […] Read more
Minnesota finds source of Palmer amaranth on CRP land
Reuters — An invasive weed likely entered Minnesota through seed planted on land in a U.S. conservation program, state agriculture officials said on Thursday, bringing to a close an official probe of a growing threat to agricultural production. Infestations of the weed, Palmer amaranth, have affected other states in the U.S. Midwest through seed planted […] Read more
Palmer amaranth threatening U.S. corn fields
Winterset, Iowa | Reuters — A U.S. government program designed to convert farmland to wildlife habitat has triggered the spread of a fast-growing weed that threatens to strangle crops in America’s rural heartland. The weed is hard to kill and, if left unchecked, destroys as much as 91 per cent of corn on infested land, […] Read more
Minnesota probes Palmer amaranth’s sudden appearance
Chicago | Reuters — Minnesota has launched an investigation to find the source of seed mixes contaminated with weed seeds after the aggressive, herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth weed was found on 30 areas planted in a federal conservation program. The weed grows very fast, reaching up to eight feet in height and can hold back commercial […] Read more
North American sunflowers looking good early
CNS Canada –– Sunflower crops in key growing regions of North America are in relatively good shape early in the season, according to reports. However, those good conditions have put some nearby pressure on values, with spot pricing expected to take some direction from the weather and acreage reports over the next few weeks. Sunflower […] Read more
PM Beef to shut Minnesota plant, cites tight cattle supply
Reuters — PM Beef will close its southwestern Minnesota beef processing plant on Dec. 11, due to tight cattle supplies, the company said Tuesday. The company announced the Windom plant’s closure to employees and owners during meetings Monday, according to local media. Prices for slaughter cattle last year hit record highs in the wake of […] Read more
A genealogical mystery brings a family together
Winnie Benson wanted to know the fate of her great-great-grandmother, but she found something much more
Reading Time: 3 minutes For more than a quarter of a century Winnie Benson had dreamed of this moment. With Carstairs’ Dawn Taylor at her side, she knelt down on the sun-scorched ground of a long-forgotten southern Alberta cemetery and caressed the ancient etchings of a flat gravestone marking the final resting place of Drusilla Ennis, the pair’s great-great-grandmother. […] Read more
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