Brenda Tjaden Lepp says some of the best marketing advice in this era of declining grain prices is on the cost side of the ledger. “You better have a pretty good handle on your costs,” said the chief analyst of FarmLink Marketing Solutions. Many growers rely on outdated numbers or only factor in variable costs. […] Read more
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Watch costs, producers advised
Feds fund pulse, canola market development
The pulse funding will be spent on marketing benefits of the crop, eliminating trade barriers and transferring knowledge
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz kept busy making Growing Forward 2 funding announcements at CropSphere 2015. On Jan. 13, he doled out $3.3 million to Pulse Canada and other groups for market development initiatives. The announcement included $1.3 million to develop new tools for measuring the sustainability performance of Canadian grain, oilseed and pulse crops. […] Read moreU.S. restaurant chain suspends pork sales over welfare issues
(Reuters) — Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said it would suspend pork sales at one-third of its U.S. restaurants, following a routine audit that revealed one of its suppliers was not complying with its animal welfare standards. The inspection of the undisclosed supplier exposed inconsistencies in protocol, communications director Chris Arnold said. Suppliers must raise pigs […] Read more
African slaughterhouse producing portable energy
Facility makes a bottled biogas for heating and cooking
KISERIAN, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Maasai pastoralists in Kenya have found an innovative way to generate biogas: using animal blood and waste from a slaughterhouse. The Keekonyokie facility in Kajiado County uses the gas it produces to generate electricity that powers the meat cold room and processing equipment. It also pipes the gas to […] Read moreYoung entrepreneur not new to awards
Integrity Post Structures among ag businesses nominated for an Alberta business award
Jerry Myer said he doesn’t feel all that young after starting a business from the back of his pick-up truck and expanding it into the second largest company of its kind in Canada. Nevertheless, Myer, 32, a partner in Integrity Post Structures of Okotoks, Alta., is a finalist in the Young Entrepreneur Award of Distinction […] Read moreChina bans U.S. poultry, egg imports
CHICAGO (Reuters) — China has banned all imports of U.S. poultry, poultry products and eggs amid recent reports of highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza found in the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said all poultry and poultry related products shipped from the United States after Jan. 8 would be returned or destroyed. […] Read more
EU to let governments choose GM crop policy
Genetically modified crop industry upset with decision to allow each EU member the authority to approve or ban crops
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) — Individual European Union countries will be able to ban cultivation of genetically modified crops under a compromise deal that ends years of deadlock over the controversial issue. A list of GM products is awaiting EU approval and the Jan. 13 vote in the European Parliament opens the way for authorities to […] Read moreU.S. railway denies favouring oil sector
Official says crude oil shippers saw a greater impact from last winter’s service crunch on BNSF’s lines than farmers
The largest railroad in the U.S. does not give preferential treatment to crude oil shipments, says Barb Haertling, general director of agricultural products at BNSF. Haertling told the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association meeting, which was held in Winnipeg Jan. 8-9, that the petroleum industry actually had worse service during last year’s railway capacity crunch, […] Read moreFederal court upholds competitive rail measure that increases access for P&H facility
WINNIPEG —Canada’s Federal Court has upheld a ruling that allows Parrish & Heimbecker to gain competitive access to BNSF Railway on its grain shipments to the United States, according to a news release from the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. Western Canadian grain groups applaud the decision because it helps improve competitiveness in the grain […] Read more
Russia’s winter grains appear worse than last year’s crop
Dry fall took a toll on country’s crops
MOSCOW (Reuters) — Russia’s winter grains are in worse condition than last year after a dry autumn, the head of Russian weather forecaster Hydrometcentre said Jan. 14, which adds to risks for this year’s harvest. Russia is expected to be the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter this year, but its grain crop depends heavily on weather […] Read more
