Manitoba’s hog industry is reeling from a surprise provincial government ban on hog production growth. Farmers should be worried by the government’s apparent willingness to hang an agricultural industry out to dry, says the head of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “The hog industry has been targeted unfairly and the public perception now because of this decision […] Read more
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Barn ban stuns Manitoba hog sector
Flood response lacking: SARM
Barry Koshman’s heart sank when he took one last look at his soggy farm before the snow flew. “It looked worse than it did this spring,” said the Sheho, Sask., farmer. And the spring was not pretty. Koshman’s farm received almost 180 millimetres of rain last fall followed by 380 mm in May and June. […] Read more
Sask Pool offers $1 billion for rival AU
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool is prepared to pay at least $1 billion in shares and cash to buy Agricore United. The pool last week shocked the grain industry by announcing a bid to buy all of AU’s outstanding securities and create a handling and marketing giant that would dominate the prairie grain industry. “We believe the […] Read more
Sask Pool’s offer too low: analysts
Analysts say Saskatchewan Wheat Pool undervalued its competitor Agricore United in its hostile bid to take over the company, and that makes the offer unattractive to shareholders. “At this price I’m definitely not a seller,” said Robert Beauregard, a portfolio manager at Natcan Investment Management in Montreal. The company owns more than 3.6 million AU […] Read more
Hunger still a ‘sad reality:’ FAO director
Ten years after world leaders promised to cut hunger in half over 20 years, the number of hungry people in the world continues to increase. Jacques Diouf, director of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, recently said the world still can meet the goal set at a World Food Summit in Rome in 1996, […] Read more
Main competitors unconcerned with battle of the prairie giants
Canada’s second, third and fourth biggest grain companies say they’re not overly concerned by news that numbers one and two might merge into one giant grain company. Saskatchewan Wheat Pool last week announced it is making a bid to buy Agricore United, Canada’s largest grain company. The new company would have a dominant position in […] Read more
Maple Leaf pulls tampered products
Maple Leaf Foods voluntarily recalled five ham products last week after syringe casings were found at a meat processing plant in Kitchener, Ont. “The recall was initiated based on a syringe casing found visibly embedded in a ham found as part of routine visual product inspection,” said a corporate News release news. Maple Leaf said […] Read more
CWB task force chair takes heat
Ottawa’s marketing choice task force did not analyze the benefits or dangers of ending the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly because that was not its mandate, MPs were told earlier this month. Nor did it analyze, verify or challenge wheat board claims that the monopoly provides between $530 million and $655 million in additional revenue to […] Read more
Proposal shows need for CWB: Measner
The proposed merger of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agricore United drives home the need to maintain the single desk system, says the head of the Canadian Wheat Board. “I think it is an additional argument for maintaining the single desk,” said Adrian Measner, the board’s president and chief executive officer. “We can do things to […] Read more
Share prices higher for Pool, AU
Share prices for two prairie grain handlers rose last week after a hostile takeover bid on Agricore United by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. Analysts say that’s because investors expect more activity, including the possibility of another company entering the fray. Agricore United’s price shot up 25 percent the day after the pool announced an unsolicited bid. […] Read more
