AGCO executives say by providing farmers with retrofit precision
technologies, the company can help them meet future climate change
regulations.

Precision technologies to help meet climate targets

AGCO focuses on making precision tech available for the retrofit market

Back in March, the federal government announced it was proposing a goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of synthetic fertilizer on Canadian farms by 30 per cent. While ambitious, it’s much lower than the mandated 55 per cent reduction European farmers are facing. “The government is focused on meeting this emissions […] Read more

Retired winter wheat breeder Rob Graf describes some of the benefits of his new winter wheat variety AAC
Coldfront. With improved yield and an improved disease package, it is a variety that appears to have a good fit
across Western Canada.

Improved varieties on the ground and in the pipeline

AAC Coldfront fires on all cylinders — it’s high yielding, has high quality, good standability and improved winter hardiness

Rob Graf wrapped up his career as a plant breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on a high note this summer as he introduced another new top-performing winter wheat variety that appears to have a great fit in all crop regions across Western Canada. At a field day on Stamp Seeds’ farm at Enchant, north […] Read more


Larry Penner plans on including winter cereal crops in his rotation for several reasons – it spreads out the workload, benefits wildlife, improves weed control and, at the end of the day, the crops are also profitable.

Benefits of winter crops outweigh the challenges

Depending on seeding conditions, the best approach may be to ‘seed shallow and pray for rain’

As the calendar rolls around to August and September each year, south-central Alberta farmer Larry Penner finds himself in two time zones — seeding time and harvest time. For a good part of his farming career, Penner has been a believer of including a winter cereal crop in rotation. He says the timing can be […] Read more

File photo of a BNSF grain train crossing the Gassman Coulee trestle near Minot, North Dakota. (Photo courtesy BNSF Railway)

U.S. railroad strike averted

Biden calls deal a 'win for America;' strike's impact would have reached up into Canada

Updated | Washington | Reuters — Major U.S. railroads and unions secured a tentative deal on Thursday after 20 hours of intense talks brokered by President Joe Biden’s administration to avert a rail shutdown that could have hit food and fuel supplies across the country and beyond. Biden called the deal a “big win for […] Read more


A freight train at Manchac, La., about 75 km east of Baton Rouge. (CN.ca)

U.S. rail embargoes may stymie some Canadian rail traffic

CN halts most cross-border traffic; CP also monitoring situation

Mindful of the potential for snarls on their own tracks, Canada’s big two railways are monitoring talks between a clutch of major U.S. railways and several of their labour unions to avert strikes and/or lockouts that may begin as early as Friday. As of Wednesday, three unions out of the 12 representing unionized rail workers […] Read more

File photo of a BNSF grain train in Montana. (Photo courtesy BNSF Railway)

U.S. railways to halt grain shipments ahead of potential shutdown

Fall fertilizer traffic also at risk

Chicago | Reuters — Some U.S. railroads will start halting crop shipments on Thursday, a day ahead of a potential work stoppage, an agricultural association and sources at two grain co-operatives said on Tuesday, threatening exports and feed deliveries for livestock. With farmers starting to harvest autumn crops that are shipped to meat and biofuels […] Read more



File photo of a docked grain vessel at a Black Sea port in Turkey. (Bfk92/E+/Getty Images)

U.S. working with U.N. on Russia food, fertilizer export complaints

Black Sea pact up for renewal in November

New York | Reuters — The United States is working with the United Nations to address Russian complaints that sanctions are hindering its food and fertilizer shipments, even though there has been no disruption to Moscow’s exports of the commodities, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed […] Read more


FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Canada can cut fertilizer emissions 14 per cent by 2030, industry groups say

Report touts use of 4R practices

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from applying nitrogen fertilizer by 14 per cent by 2030 through adoption of more sustainable farm practices and new technology, without any overall reduction in fertilizer use, agriculture industry groups said on Wednesday. Such reductions of nitrous oxide from 2020 levels would fall well […] Read more

File photo of a docked grain vessel at a Black Sea port in Turkey. (Bfk92/E+/Getty Images)

U.N., Moscow discuss Russian grain, fertilizer exports

Grain not getting to poorer countries, Putin alleges

United Nations | Reuters — Senior U.N. and Russian officials met in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss Russian complaints that Western sanctions were impeding its grain and fertilizer exports despite a U.N.-brokered deal to boost Russian and Ukrainian shipments of the commodities. The United Nations, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed on July 22 on what […] Read more