(Reuters) — Weak conditions in the potash market will not improve any time soon, Potash Corp said Jan. 19 as it announced it would suspend operations indefinitely at a Canadian mine. PotashCorp said it was putting its Picadilly mine in New Brunswick on care and maintenance, resulting in the loss of 420 to 430 jobs. […] Read more
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PotashCorp shuts mine citing weak markets
CGC set to debut new wheat classin August
The Canadian Grain Commission is moving ahead with plans to create a new class of milling wheat: Canada Northern Hard Red. The new CNHR class will come into effect Aug. 1, along with another new class, Canada Western Special Purpose (CWSP). The changes are an effort to modernize Canada’s wheat classification system and ensure that the […] Read more
Don’t neglect scouting for disease: pathologist
Dry conditions during last year’s growing season in Alberta kept most cereal diseases at bay, providing a silver lining to a droughty year. Forecasts for 2016 are indicating another dry year, so low disease levels might again be expected. However, Alberta Agriculture crop pathologist Mike Harding said wheat streak mosaic and stripe rust are two […] Read more
Disease scouting, identification determine method of control
Key factors that help with disease management:
Farmers who want better disease management should seek better information. “Diagnostics are a really important part of the disease scouting aspect as well as the follow up at the end of the season,” said Faye Dokken-Bouchard. The plant disease specialist for the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture discussed new approaches to disease management during CropSphere in […] Read moreCP posts record revenue; cuts jobs
Canadian Pacific Railway will reduce its North American workforce by as many as 1,000 people this year in response to reduced freight volumes, lower demand for rail services and improved operational efficiencies that reduce labour requirements. In a Jan. 21 conference call with investors, CP chief executive officer Hunter Harrison said most job cuts would […] Read more
Global grain supply to remain burdensome
The International Grains Council expects grain supplies will again be ample in 2016-17. The IGC’s January report says large stocks will be carried in to the new year and prospects for production are little changed from the previous year. For wheat, IGC forecasts a slight reduction in global seeded acres. “While conditions for 2016-17 winter […] Read more
Prairies may benefit from climate change
The eastern Prairies may soon be like porridge in a fairy tale: not too hot and not too cold. Right now, the eastern Prairies are 24 percent wetter than Alberta and 10 percent warmer, but the region isn’t as hot and humid as Ontario. If climate change plays out as expected, Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan […] Read more
Low oil price problems reach beyond jobs
RED DEER — Rural Alberta is in for a rough future as bankrupt oil and gas companies abandon pipelines and wells and no longer pay their taxes to municipalities and lease payments to farmers, a surface rights adviser warns. Daryl Bennett, a partner in My Landman Group, said low oil prices and world overproduction have […] Read more
British farmers consider merits of leaving European Union
LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — After decades of generous subsidies from Brussels, some British farmers are starting to think the unthinkable, that they might be better off outside the European Union. Farmers were strong supporters of EU membership when Britons last voted on it in 1975, and for years they flourished as funds flowed into the […] Read more
Asian trade agreement said to be in trouble in U.S.
American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership is in potential jeopardy, says an American forecaster and strategy adviser. Bob Treadway said the outcomes of current leadership struggles in the United States to determine Democrat and Republican party presidential candidates will affect trade and Canadians should take note. The TPP is opposed by every candidate who has […] Read more
