Reuters — Global chemicals and crop seeds company BASF is halting development of hybrid wheat in North America after results of seed trials failed to reach development goals, the company told Reuters on Wednesday. BASF will instead focus development of the new type of wheat in European markets, aiming to launch the technology there “toward […] Read more
BASF halting hybrid wheat seed development in North America
Results 'have not achieved development goals we set'
La Nina set to continue for third year
Other weather patterns may override temporarily
MarketsFarm — With fall soon upon North America, there’s nothing overly unusual with the continuation of La Nina, according to Drew Lerner, president of World Weather Inc. at Overland Park, Kansas. Going into its third year, some people might think this is the third consecutive La Nina — but Lerner said it’s the same one, […] Read more
JBS says it paid US$11 million in bitcoin for ransom
Cyberattack disrupted plants in North America, Australia
Reuters — Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to US$11 million (C$13.3 million) following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company’s CEO said in a statement Wednesday. The subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS halted cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants and its Alberta beef plant for a […] Read more
JBS Australian, North American servers hacked
Melbourne | Reuters –– Australian and North American units of the world’s largest meat works were hit over the weekend by an organized cyber attack on its information systems, Brazil’s JBS said in a statement. The attack caused its Australian operations to shut down on Monday. The company said it was working to resolve the […] Read more
Malt growers have many reasons to raise a glass this year
Quality is good, demand strong so far, and the harvest was night and day from a year ago
Quality is good, demand strong so far, and the harvest was night and day from a year ago
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s a cliché — but most malt growers really do have a reason to raise a glass and toast what has turned out to be a good year. Last year’s wet harvest made for “a dismal year” but this season has been good for most growers in south and central Alberta, as well as Saskatchewan […] Read more
Logistics, lack of containers hamper pulse crop movement
MarketsFarm — Logistics disruptions due to COVID-19 are hampering nearby movement of pulses, according to a number of industry participants speaking Thursday on a webinar organized by the Global Pulse Consortium. However, the longer-term impact of the pandemic remains to be seen. “The shipping industry has been hugely impacted by COVID-19,” Chris Oliver, nautical director […] Read more
Mosaic to cut fertilizer production as weather dampens demand
Reuters — Mosaic Co. said Thursday it will reduce fertilizer production until market conditions improve, as a difficult harvest season in North America has led to reduced fertilizer usage. Agricultural companies’ profits have been hammered this year due to an unusually cold and wet weather that has delayed planting season in North America, and lower […] Read more
Strong foreign demand boosts North American hog markets
MarketsFarm — While the volume of hogs at North American slaughter markets have kept packing plants near capacity in recent weeks, strong foreign export demand has kept pork values high. “We expect pork values to move higher, due to the shortness of production in China,” said Brad Marceniuk, a Saskatchewan provincial livestock economist in Saskatoon. […] Read more
Lower prices, relative profitability tug at chickpea acres
MarketsFarm — Since chickpea prices fell rapidly during last year’s harvest, the jury is out as to what the chickpea market holds this year. “Acres are going to be down this year because the price isn’t what it was a year ago,” said Melody Ector, president of Diefenbaker Spice and Pulse at Elbow, Sask. Prices […] Read more
Swine fever in China poses risks, rewards for Canadian pork
MarketsFarm — Sharp losses in China’s hog herd due to African swine fever (ASF) are underpinning the North American pork market and could create export opportunities for Canada — if this country manages to stay disease-free. ASF does not affect humans, but the highly viral disease is nearly 100 per cent fatal for hogs with […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
