Global warming one factor | Pests are moving away from the equator due to changing climate, deforestation, development
OSLO, Norway (Reuters) — Crop-damaging pests are moving toward the poles at a rate of more than 25 kilometres a decade, aided by global warming and human transport. The development poses a potential threat to world food security, according to a new study. The spread of beetles, moths, bacteria, worms and fungi in a warming […] Read moreNews
Pests head north, south, leaving predators behind
It’s no coincidence that great employees have great bosses
Touring big-city publishing and media executives through his printing plant never gets old for Curwin Friesen. “We have a lot of customers from New York, Boston or L.A. who come here for press checks,” says the president of Friesens Corp., located in Altona, Man., a town of 4,200 an hour’s drive south of Winnipeg. “For […] Read more
Traders predict potash prices to drop 20 percent
LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — Potash prices are poised to drop 20 percent after the surprise breakup of the world’s largest producer cartel sent buyers and sellers scrambling to establish new valuations, traders said. Global trade in potash remains largely on ice after Russia’s Uralkali in July quit the Belarusian Potash Co., which together with a […] Read more
Univar celebrates the survival of independent Canadian agriculture input dealers
Who wants to celebrate a half-century leading to apparent failure? Univar’s Canadian agriculture division didn’t, so the company did little to mark its first 50 years in business in 2007. But now the mood is completely different, and the company and its customers are feeling like they are back on top. “Five years later, Univar […] Read more
Report wary of inspection overhaul
(Reuters) — Regulators pushing to overhaul food safety inspections at poultry slaughterhouses have not thoroughly evaluated pilot projects that critics say could jeopardize food safety, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The GAO report also said the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to disclose accurate information about the data the department used to promote […] Read more
Agrium gets OK to buy Viterra retail stores
WINNIPEG (Reuters) — Canadian regulators have approved Glencore Xstrata PLC’s sale of Viterra farm retail stores to Agrium Inc. in a deal that will make Agrium the dominant farm retailer in Canada. Agrium, already the biggest U.S. retail seller of fertilizer, chemicals and seed, will get 210 stores across Western Canada from Glencore in a […] Read more
Decision soon on halt to COOL changes
Changes worse than original | Allowing the injunction would give the WTO time to rule on revised wording
A decision on a request to halt implementation of U.S. country-of-origin labelling legislation could be announced as early as this week. After a court hearing Aug. 27, U.S. district court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said her decision could be expected within 14 days. If granted, the injunction would delay implementation of COOL legislation, which the […] Read moreCrop report
Saskatchewan Warm weather has assisted harvest operations in Saskatchewan with growers across the province combining and swathing. Combining operations are slightly behind the five-year average for this time of year. Growers in southwestern Sask-atchewan are furthest along. Across the province, combining of pea, lentil and winter wheat crops is most progressed. Above-average yields are reported […] Read more
AG Notes
Royal holds poster contest The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair is holding a poster contest to mark its 92nd year. Entrants are asked to design an official poster reflecting the Royal’s theme: farm, fresh, fun. The official poster is a long-standing tradition dating back to the first Royal winter fair in 1922. The winning poster will […] Read more
World in brief
Pests gain on GM corn? (Reuters) — Researchers in Illinois are finding significant damage from rootworms in farm fields planted in a rotation with a genetically modified corn that is supposed to protect the crop from the pests, according to a new report. Evidence gathered from fields in two Illinois counties suggests that pest problems […] Read more
