WINNIPEG (Reuters) — A Canadian company better known for selling condominiums has walked into a $1 billion deal to ship edible oil to China as consumer demand there overtakes domestic supplies. Fengguan Edible Oil Ltd. Co., a Chinese producer of oil from rapeseed, contacted Toronto-based LeMine Investment Group this year about securing canola oil, a […] Read more
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Canadian condo seller taps China edible oil demand
Bee deaths down, says Health Canada’s neonic report
Amidst all the noise surrounding Ontario’s decision to reduce the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments by 80 percent, Health Canada quietly released an update on its research into neonic insecticides and bee health yesterday. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency said Canadian beekeepers reported fewer bee deaths in 2014 compared to previous years, but Health Canada […] Read more
U.S. ethanol production hits record high on profit margins
CHICAGO (Reuters) — U.S. ethanol makers produced a record amount of the biofuel last week, government data showed on Wednesday, as plentiful corn supplies and high ethanol prices resulted in the best profit margins in about six months, traders said. Ethanol production rose more than one percent to an average of 982,000 barrels per day […] Read more
Realized net farm income rose 1.1 percent last year
The latest numbers from Statistics Canada likely tell farmers what they already know: farm incomes in 2013 didn’t rise as much as their on-farm stocks. According to the agency, farmers’ total net income, which includes on-farm inventories, was up $5.6 billion to $12 billion at the end of last year . Realized net income, however […] Read more
Diesel prices remain stable, despite crude oil decline
Falling crude oil prices have pushed fuel costs at Canadian pumps to the lowest levels in recent memory, but the cost of farm diesel remains stable. At around $1 per litre, prices are down from recent weeks, but farmers were making purchases at 90 cents this fall, said Chris Adair of Rack Petroleum in Biggar, […] Read more
Vote tally too close, recount ordered on Oregon GMO labelling
(Reuters) — The final vote tally on an Oregon ballot measure that would require labelling of foods made with genetically modified ingredients was so close that state officials are doing a recount, a spokesman for the state said on Tuesday. Final results show the Oregon measure losing by 812 votes out of a total of […] Read more
Buckwheat problem gives Putin food for thought
MOSCOW (Reuters) — As if Russian President Vladimir Putin did not have enough to worry about with Western sanctions, falling oil prices and a collapsing currency, there is also now the price of buckwheat. Rumours that snow has ruined the harvest in the Altai region that grows the fruit seed have caused panic-buying in some […] Read more
WTO postpones trade deal by a day after last-minute objection
GENEVA (Reuters) — The World Trade Organization postponed adoption of the first global trade reform in its 19-year history on Wednesday, delaying by a day after a last-minute objection from Argentina, diplomats said. “It’s not a big drama,” WTO chief spokesman Keith Rockwell told reporters. Diplomats said they expected the meeting to go ahead on […] Read more
Deere says equipment sales to fall further as farm incomes drop
(Reuters) — Deere & Co. said it expected equipment sales to fall further as lower grain prices discourage farmers from buying tractors, harvesters and other machinery. Shares of the world’s largest farm equipment maker fell as much as four percent in premarket trading on Wednesday. Deere’s sales have been hit as bumper corn harvests drive […] Read more
Ont. farmers balk at neonic reduction plan
The Ontario government’s plan to cut neonicotinoid use by 80 percent is unwarranted and unacceptable, says the Grain Farmers of Ontario chair. “This new regulation is unfounded, impractical and unrealistic and the government does not know how to implement it,” said Henry Van Ankum, who farms near Alma, Ont. “With this announcement, agriculture and rural […] Read more
