Winnipeg | Reuters — U.S. crop handler The Scoular Co. is looking to acquire stakes in grain and oilseeds facilities in Western Canada, fresh off agreeing to its first major purchase in the crop-growing belt, the private company’s chief operating officer said Monday. Scoular last week agreed to pay $94 million for the special crops […] Read more
Grain handler Scoular on hunt for more Canadian buys
Ex-Viterra chief to take Ontario’s Hydro One public
The chief executive who morphed Saskatchewan Wheat Pool from a debt-crushed grain handler into Viterra, then oversaw its sale to Glencore, has been tapped to take Ontario’s Crown-owned power utility public. Toronto-based Hydro One on Thursday announced Mayo Schmidt as its new president and CEO effective Sept. 3, replacing Carmine Marcello. “We believe that Mr. […] Read more
Think a big new West Coast terminal is good news? Think again
Expanding storage capacity just helps the big grain companies depress the price paid to farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes G3 has announced it may build a new grain terminal at the West Lynn terminal on the North Shore of Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet. G3 is the joint venture of U.S.-based multinational grain company, Bunge Ltd., and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co., owned by the Saudi government. It was given the assets of the […] Read more
Andersons shares up after report hints Glencore interest
Reuters — Shares of U.S.-based agribusiness Andersons Inc. jumped more than six per cent on Friday, outpacing the sector, after a Bloomberg News report speculated that Glencore could be interested in acquiring the company. The story mentioned Glencore’s interest in expanding its agricultural assets and named Ohio-based Andersons as well as privately held companies Scoular […] Read more
Viterra boosts Glencore results
Commodity giant Glencore saw its earnings from mining and oils drop last year, but saw a 172 per cent increase in its earnings from agricultural trading — largely due to results from Viterra. The world’s largest commodity trader on Monday reported overall EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $12.8 billion on sales […] Read more
Ex-Viterra chief returns to Agrium board
No longer lined up to lead Louis Dreyfus’ global commodities operations, Mayo Schmidt is back on the board of one of the world’s major ag retail and fertilizer firms. Schmidt — previously CEO at Viterra, Canada’s biggest grain handling firm, from 2000 to 2012 — had stepped down last month from Calgary-based Agrium’s board of directors in light of […] Read more
Ex-Viterra chief dropped as Dreyfus’ CEO-elect
The terms by which Mayo Schmidt would lead Louis Dreyfus’ commodities business have led the company and its chosen CEO to part ways. Offering no further details, Louis Dreyfus Commodities said Wednesday the company and the former Viterra CEO “have jointly decided not to proceed” with Schmidt taking the helm, “while retaining the highest mutual […] Read more
Hi-Pro buys and closes New-Life Mills feed plant in Lethbridge
Reading Time: < 1 minute Hi-Pro Feeds LP has purchased and closed Parrish & Heimbecker’s New-Life Mills feed plant in Lethbridge. The company is taking “the next step in our growth strategy” after improving its manufacturing capabilities, delivery systems, and customer support following its acquisition of Viterra’s North American feed business in April 2012, said Daren Kennett, Hi-Pro founder and […] Read more
Ex-Viterra CEO to lead Dreyfus’ commodities business
The CEO who stitched Viterra together from Canada’s Prairie pools has been named to lead Louis Dreyfus’ global commodities business. Mayo Schmidt was announced Friday as the new CEO of Louis Dreyfus Commodities (LDC), the “D” of the four “ABCD” companies dominating the global grain business. Schmidt takes the reins at Rotterdam-based Dreyfus effective Jan. […] Read more
Demolition at Warner’s famed elevator row
With the loss of two classic pioneer sentinels Alberta’s pioneer heritage takes a serious blow
Reading Time: 3 minutes For Cody Kapcsos the shock of seeing the wreckage earlier this month at Warner was like looking at a once beautiful loved one and encountering utter physical devastation. “When I saw what happened to this iconic and beautiful row it was shocking to see, like someone whose beauty had long deserved admiration but now there […] Read more
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