Among the major players still in the world’s crop protection and seed business, remaining competitive comes at a cost. To be sure, several smaller companies remain in the game — but with marriages now consummated for Dow Chemical and DuPont, and for Syngenta and ChemChina, Bayer’s pending takeover of Monsanto and, now, BASF getting set […] Read more
BASF’s new Canadian stake to include three plants, 300 staff
Toronto exchange may delist marijuana firms with U.S. operations
Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s TMX Group, operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, said on Monday that it might delist stocks of marijuana companies with interests in the U.S., where their operations are illegal under federal law. TMX disclosed its plans as Canadian securities regulators said companies must disclose any connection to the U.S. marijuana […] Read more
Loblaw cuts 500 jobs, plans to reinvest in e-commerce
Toronto | Reuters — Grocery chain Loblaw Co. Ltd. is cutting about 500 jobs across the company, and plans to reinvest the savings into digital and e-commerce services, the company said on Monday. The job cuts, which began on Monday and make up 0.25 per cent of the Toronto-based company’s workforce, will apply to executive […] Read more
Feds pledge lower small business tax rate
UPDATED, Oct. 16 — The federal government says it will cut the small business tax rate to nine per cent from 10.5, a move seen as an attempt to counter a growing backlash against its July tax reform announcement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau appeared side-by-side in Toronto’s far suburbs to […] Read more
Governments to kick-start Ontario hazelnut sector
Development of hazelnut crop management practices and new and improved processing plants for a major user of hazelnuts are getting federal and provincial government funding in Ontario. The federal government on Wednesday pledged up to $492,052 to the Ontario Hazelnut Association (OHA) to help develop the hazelnut sector, working with the University of Guelph and […] Read more
U.S. EPA gives dicamba ‘restricted use’ label for 2018
New York | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency unveiled new restrictions on Friday on the use of dicamba herbicide, which has caused widespread crop damage in the U.S. Midwest for the past two years. The EPA said in a statement that certain formulations of the substance will be classified as a restricted-use pesticide, […] Read more
BASF to harvest seeds, herbicide businesses from Bayer
Frankfurt | Reuters — BASF has agreed to buy seed and herbicide businesses from Bayer for 5.9 billion euros (C$8.7 billion) in cash, as Bayer tries to convince competition authorities to approve its planned acquisition of Monsanto. BASF, the world’s third-largest maker of crop chemicals, has so far avoided seed assets and instead pursued research […] Read more
Metro plans automated distribution for Ontario
One of Canada’s biggest grocery chains plans to build new hubs to distribute both fresh and frozen foods to its Ontario stores. Quebec-based Metro Inc. said Wednesday it expects to put up $400 million to modernize and automate its Toronto operations between 2018 and 2023, building two new facilities for fresh and frozen food distribution […] Read more
Official says ‘One Seat, One Rider’ should be the rule on every farm
Machinery accidents cause the majority of fatalities among children on the farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Daddy, can I have a ride?’ “Riding on the tractor with Dad has been a long-standing tradition for many farm families,” said Janice Donkers, youth farm safety co-ordinator with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It’s not uncommon to hear the older generations boast about how young they were when they first began riding on or operating […] Read more
New tool to help Alberta food processors
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Business Assessment and Action Tool resource is now available. The resource was developed for Alberta processors to help them incorporate global best practices, find opportunities for further improvement, and leverage programs and opportunities provided by the province and Growing Forward 2 programs. The first step to using the resource is to contact a development […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
