The Montreal Port Authority has agreed to allow Viterra to lease and operate its grain terminal. The Montreal terminal is a federally licensed 262,000 tonne facility based in the deepest inland seaport in North America, with direct access to both major rail networks and access to various shipping destinations in Canada, the United States and […] Read more
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Viterra takes over terminal operations at Port of Montreal
Fires planned for Sask. parks
Prescribed burns will take place in two Saskatchewan parks over the next couple of weeks. The burns are designed to help rejuvenate natural plant species by causing them to send up new shoots. Burning old vegetation also reduces wildfire threats. The burns are scheduled for Duck Mountain Provincial Park during the week of May 10 […] Read more
Floods drive people from reserves
WINNIPEG – Severe flooding in Manitoba has hurt aboriginal people more than most, forcing them to leave poorly protected homes in low-lying areas. At least 1,100 people have left their homes in Manitoba, mostly from Indian reserves, according to official figures, but the real number is believed to be hundreds higher. A lack of safe […] Read more
Sask.’s lone Liberal seat goes to Goodale, not party
In the sea of Conservative blue that now colours Saskatchewan, one Liberal red riding stands out. Ralph Goodale has represented Wascana since 1993 and that’s not likely to change after the May 2 vote, said Ken Rasmussen, associate director of the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. “I don’t necessarily think it’s a Liberal riding […] Read more
Canada lacks strategy on agriculture: expert
In a decade or less, agriculture will no longer be synonymous with food production, says a chemical industry official. Instead, said Murray McLaughlin, president of the Sustainable Chemistry Alliance in Sarnia, Ont., it will be associated with chemical production, medicine, consumer goods and energy. He warned that Canada will be left behind the rest of […] Read more
Potash rail car facility planned near Saskatoon
Canpotex, the marketing arm of PotashCorp., Mosaic and Agrium, plans to build a $55 million rail car maintenance facility by the second half of next year. It will build the plant near Lanigan, Sask., about 135 kilometres from Saskatoon, with an eye to boosting the amount of potash the company can transport. The announcement is […] Read more
Freight rates set to increase in coming year
Fluctuating fuel prices are blamed for a 3.5 percent increase in the cost of shipping grain in the coming crop year. That comes after an increase of $2.50 a tonne last year and a decline of $2.26 a tonne the year before that. The Canadian Transportation Agency announced the increase in the volume-related composite price […] Read more
Southern U.S. wheat growers get crush on canola
Jeff Scott’s neighbours were concerned when he grew canola for the first time in 2004 in north-central Oklahoma. “I had guys calling me and telling me that my turnips weren’t making (it),” said Scott, who farms near Pond Creek west of Tulsa. “They had been out there digging up my turnips and there weren’t any […] Read more
Tips for aerial seeding canola this spring
Wet conditions this spring will likely force many canola growers to either aerial seed or leave some fields unseeded. The Canola Council of Canada provides recommendations for broadcast seeding and although the information pertains to ground application, much of it is also relevant to aerial seeding. John Gibson of Provincial Helicopter in eastern Manitoba is […] Read more
Determine gross margin efficiency to make better decisions
Although farm business analysis is not restricted to the use of ratios, they can be useful tools to analyze performance. A great example of this is gross margin efficiency. Expressed as a ratio, gross margin efficiency measures how efficiently a farm uses specific, productive inputs. To demonstrate, the calculation looks like this: Gross margin by […] Read more
