Tractors and seeders won’t be rolling across fields in western Manitoba for the next four to five weeks. But producers and provincial extension agents say water is flowing off cropland and most fields should be ready for spring seeding in early to mid-May. The situation is looking more positive than it did in the first […] Read more
News
Thunder Bay shipping season starts early
Eastbound grain shipments through the Port of Thunder Bay are off to a good start in 2017, thanks to an early break-up of winter ice and ample grain stocks in storage at the port. Tim Heney, chief executive officer at the Port of Thunder Bay, said the port welcomed its first vessel of the 2017 […] Read more
Growing Canadian craft beer sector thirsty for local malt
WINNIPEG — Craft breweries are a growing sub-sector of the Canadian beer industry, but the increased variety of local drink options are not necessarily 100 percent home-grown because a lack of domestically produced specialty malts force brewers to look far afield to meet their needs. “We get our base malt locally, but we don’t have […] Read more
Bernier takes on supply management in Conservative leadership race
The future of Canada’s supply management system for milk, eggs and poultry has been thrust onto the national political agenda by a top candidate for the federal Conservative party leadership Maxime Bernier. Bernier is calling for the abolition of the system after a new levy on dairy products builds enough funds to reimburse farmers for […] Read more
Contaminated seed spreads destructive weed in U.S.
WINTERSET, IOWA, April 5 (Reuters) – Contaminated grass and wildflower seed for conservation and wildlife land has triggered the spread of a fast-growing weed that threatens to strangle crops in America’s rural heartland. The weed, Palmer amaranth, is hard to kill and, if left unchecked, destroys as much as 91 percent of corn on infested […] Read more
Canola creeps higher for third day, market watches Argentina rain
Canola futures rose Wednesday with support from a stronger soy complex and a rebound in palm futures. Generally it was an up day in the crop markets, except for Minneapolis spring wheat. WATCH THIS WEEK’S CROP MARKET VIDEO UPDATE The market was mostly trading weather. Forecasts for rain in Argentina’s soybean area supported the oilseed. […] Read more
CFIA extends flour recall across Canada
A recall on specific 10-kilogram bags of Robin Hood All-Purpose Flour has been extended nation-wide by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. One person has become ill and more than 20 other cases of illness are being investigated to see if flour potentially contaminated with E. coli 0121 is the cause. Initially the recall, announced March […] Read more
Monsanto Q2 profit jumps on strong demand for seeds
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — U.S. seeds and agrochemicals company Monsanto Co., which is in the process of being bought by Germany’s Bayer AG for $66 billion, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit today, helped by strong demand for its soybean and corn seeds. Monsanto’s shares were up 1.6 percent at $115.84 after earlier hitting a 22-month […] Read more
Processor bankruptcy costs Man. vegetable growers a customer
A Manitoba company with world beating technology to turn vegetables and pulses into purees is now bankrupt. Canadian Prairie Garden Puree Products of Portage la Prairie filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. Receivership records show that the company owes $9 million: $6 million to secured creditors and $3 million to unsecured creditors. The secured […] Read more
Sask. ag worker course discontinued due to lack of interest
A program designed to train agricultural workers and help alleviate a shortage of skilled labour on Saskatchewan farms did not continue beyond a pilot project stage. The Agricultural Operator Program was announced in 2014 as part of the provincial government’s growth plan. It was delivered by Parkland Regional College in Yorkton and, if successful, was […] Read more
