Autosteer and ag equipment guidance system maker AgJunction is poised to sell itself to farm equipment maker Kubota Corp. in a $91 million all-cash deal. Publicly-traded AgJunction, which is registered in Calgary but based at Scottsdale, Ariz., said Thursday its board has unanimously approved Kubota’s 75-cents-per-share proposal and recommended shareholders vote in favour. AgJunction would […] Read more

Kubota to buy autosteer maker AgJunction
All-cash deal worth about $91 million

Son of India government minister arrested, accused of killing farmers
Junior home minister's son was 'not co-operating' in probe
Lucknow | Reuters — Ashish Mishra, son of junior home minister Ajay Mishra Teni, has been arrested on accusations he ran over and killed four protesting farmers last week, a senior police official said. The farmers, killed on Oct. 3 in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, were part of India’s longest-running agricultural protest, opposing […] Read more

Cargill, ADM sell GrainBridge to ag software firm Bushel
'Network effect' expected in grains sector
An online service farmers use to manage grain sales with ADM’s elevators and processing plants across Canada — along with Cargill and ADM elevators in the U.S. — is under new ownership. ADM and Cargill, the two major U.S.-based agribusinesses that set up GrainBridge in 2019, announced Tuesday they’ve sold it to Bushel, a Fargo, […] Read more

CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. corn, soybean carryovers could increase
Declines expected for wheat stocks
MarketsFarm — Ahead of the next supply and demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), expectations are for corn and soybean ending stocks to increase, according to Steve Georgy, president of Allendale Inc., in McHenry, Ill. “The wheat market could see carryout numbers decline slightly on this report,” he added. USDA is scheduled […] Read more

Prairie quinoa yields likely to be down this year
MarketsFarm — Shortly before the harvest of this year’s quinoa crop in Western Canada is about to start, expectations are for yields to be down from last year, according to Liam O’Halloran of the Northern Quinoa Production Corp. (NorQuin) in Saskatoon. “As well as everything else we had some areas that had a little bit […] Read more

Canary seed prices rise as production drops
MarketsFarm — This year’s canary seed crop in Canada will be smaller than expected, according to Darren Yungmann, board chair of the Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan. “Overall, canary seed is one of the most susceptible to the drought when compared to other crops,” he said, noting it’s shallow-rooted and could not access any […] Read more

Canada’s CPPIB to buy major U.S. port terminal operator
Canada Pension Plan's play furthers its infrastructure push
Reuters — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Ports America, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the U.S., from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. While no valuation was given in the announcement, the deal values Ports America at over US$4 billion, according to two sources […] Read more

Ardent Mills to buy further into gluten-free
Company plans deal for North Dakota pulse miller Firebird
A major North American flour miller plans to stretch its reach further into the gluten-free milling market with a deal for a North Dakota processor. Ardent Mills said Monday it plans to buy the assets of Firebird Artisan Mills, which processes pulses and specialty grains at Harvey, N.D., about 240 km south of Brandon, Man. […] Read more

Regulations on gene-edited crops to be eased in England
London | Reuters — Britain’s farming and environment minister George Eustice announced Wednesday that regulations related to gene editing in agricultural research would be eased in England following a public consultation. Rules will now largely be aligned with conventional breeding methods for research and development into plants although scientists will still be required to notify […] Read more

India unveils new rice variety to reduce water use, labour
New Delhi | Reuters — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched an array of new high-yielding crop varieties, including herbicide-tolerant rice that can be directly sown into the soil, cutting expenditure on water and farm workers. In India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, the conventional method of rice cultivation requires farmers to sow […] Read more