Locusts threaten Australian wheat SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) – A locust plague threatens Australia’s wheat crop ahead of its October harvest, government officials there have warned. Adult locusts are heading south to more southern grain growing regions, endangering crops in the world’s fourth largest wheat exporter. The last significant locust plague in Australia was in 2004, […] Read more
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Signs of spring
in net earnings to February 2010
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) – CNH Global NV has reported stronger-than-expected earnings and raised its full-year outlook for global industry sales, saying it is seeing encouraging signs of stability almost everywhere outside Europe. The American farm and construction equipment manufacturer, an affiliate of Italian carmaker Fiat SpA, posted a first-quarter net profit of $16 million US. […] Read more
OTA levels in wheat would be too high under proposed standard
Chinese crops slow BEIJING, China (Reuters) – Adverse weather has hit China’s wheat and rapeseed crops and slowed plantings of corn and soybeans in some areas, although these problems are so far seen as having only a small impact. Lower-than-normal temperatures this spring have hurt China’s winter wheat crop in the north while heavy mid-April […] Read more
Eruption has far-reaching fallout
RAUFARFELL, Iceland (Reuters) – Icelanders living in the shadow of the volcano that disrupted European air traffic earlier this month have watched their fields turn into a grey-brown desert of fine ash. However, they are now worrying that the eruptions could trigger a much larger volcano next door. Approximately 800 people were evacuated at the […] Read more
Politics may delay Viterra’s pasta plant purchase
Election year politics in North Dakota may impede Viterra’s attempt to buy a pasta maker in Carrington, N.D. Viterra announced an agreement in March to buy Dakota Growers Pasta Company for $240 million US, but the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner in North Dakota is asking that the sale be delayed. Merle Boucher, who couldn’t […] Read more
Farmers frustrated at Nexera situation
Farmers’ frustration is building over contracted Nexera canola that Louis Dreyfus Canada has refused to accept for delivery since November. But the company says it has plans to take all the contracted canola before the end of this crop year so that farmers don’t have bin space problems at harvest. “Essentially, we’re going to take […] Read more
Processors unclear on labelling changes
Food processors are having difficulty understanding a federal suggestion that it might exclude some ingredients from its Product of Canada labelling threshold, says a processor leader. “They are having a hard time understanding how this could work,” Food Processors of Canada president Chris Kyte said in an April 23 interview. “I’m not sure it could […] Read more
GM bill promoter not usually one for controversy
The MP who launched the fierce debate about whether economic issues should be part of the registration process for genetically modified varieties is a most unlikely provocateur. New Democratic Party agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko is a soft-spoken southern British Columbia two-term MP who recently turned 65. The MP has little agricultural background but is determined […] Read more
Minister defends trade stance
Peter Van Loan is the latest in a long string of federal trade ministers to insist there is no inconsistency between promoting free trade and defending protectionist supply management. The 47-year-old MP from a rural and suburban riding north of Toronto was named trade minister four months ago and has already faced the criticism that […] Read more
Spring wheat top choice after canola
Farmers plan to boost their acres of money-losing spring wheat by a lot more than they plan to increase acres of money-making canola, according to Statistics Canada. However, analysts say the numbers aren’t as wacky as they may sound. Farmers are planting the maximum they can of canola, while the spring wheat increase comes at […] Read more
