No criminal charges will be laid against three former AFSC executives after an investigation found they engaged in questionable purchasing practices and racked up lavish expenses. Alberta agriculture minister Oneil Carlier said the RCMP completed its investigation into the executives at AFSC, also known as Agriculture Financial Services Corp., but couldn’t lay charges because their […] Read more
News
Weaker CDN dollar helps canola contracts trend higher
Winnipeg (CNS Canada) – ICE Futures Canada canola contracts saw some choppy activity over the course of the week ended March 16, but trended higher overall with much of the relative strength coming from weakness in the Canadian dollar. The currency fell by about 1.5 cents relative to its U.S. counterpart over the course of […] Read more
EU crop monitor sees most winter crops resisting weather swings
PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union’s crop monitoring service MARS forecast higher yields for this year’s winter grains harvests on Monday, saying most crops had resisted wild swings in temperatures that had raised concerns of damage. In its first yield forecasts for the 2018 grain crops MARS put this year’s average soft wheat yield at […] Read more
For China corn farmers, prices trump policy ahead of planting
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s farmers are expected to plant more corn this year, eyeing higher prices and profits despite a push to reduce acreage devoted to the cereal under the government’s latest five-year plan. Corn planting has fallen for the past two years, while soybean acreage has risen, as Beijing looks to whittle down nearly […] Read more
Deadly listeria could herald tighter food safety rules in South Africa
LONDON (Reuters) – A huge and deadly outbreak of listeria in South Africa could alter the country’s approach to food-borne disease and prompt improvements in food safety standards, a leading health official said on Friday. The World Health Organization’s top specialist on global food safety likened the South African outbreak’s potential impact to the “mad […] Read more
CP says grain movement is turning around
Canadian Pacific Railway’s letter to federal ministers says it is re-setting its network as it rebounds from February weather challenges. Train speed and overall throughput are both increasing, which is good for grain transport and other commodities, said the letter from CEO Keith Creel. The company has hauled more grain this crop year even with […] Read more
Oh, snow
Thanks to a late winter snowstorm, the equivalent of 25 to 40 mm of precipitation fell on eastern Saskatchewan in early March. The moisture was a welcome relief for farmers in the region, who had rock hard soil last fall and were worried about seeding into parched fields this spring. Unfortunately, the 25 to 50 […] Read more
Stand your ground
CORRECTION – March 17, 2018 – 1420 CST – This story originally misspelled the name of the man shot by Saskatchewan farmer Gerald Stanley. The young man shot by Gerald Stanley was Colten Boushie. In Montana it’s legal to stand your ground when threatened by another person. The law in Montana, however, doesn’t give landowners […] Read more
Alberta introduces new rural crime strategy
Rural Albertans can expect more RCMP officers on the ground, more civilian staff and more crown prosecutors to fight crime in their communities. The strategy, outlined by the province March 9, will cost $10 million. It includes 39 new officers, 40 civilian staff and eight to 10 crown prosecutors. As well, the plan includes tracking […] Read more
Pulse exports down, grain and oilseeds up
Canadian Grain Commission releases figures on agricultural exports for first half of 2017-18 crop year
The Canadian Grain Commission has released figures that shed new light on the pace of Canada’s agricultural exports in the first half of the 2017-18 crop year. Not surprisingly, the figures show a drastic reduction in exports of Canadian field peas and lentils. However, the pace of wheat and canola shipments — Western Canada’s two […] Read more
