The Garden City container terminal at Savannah is operated by Ports America on behalf of the Georgia Ports Authority. (Photo courtesy Georgia Ports Authority)

Canada’s CPPIB to buy major U.S. port terminal operator

Canada Pension Plan's play furthers its infrastructure push

Reuters — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Ports America, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the U.S., from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. While no valuation was given in the announcement, the deal values Ports America at over US$4 billion, according to two sources […] Read more

(Video screengrab via FirebirdMills.com)

Ardent Mills to buy further into gluten-free

Company plans deal for North Dakota pulse miller Firebird

A major North American flour miller plans to stretch its reach further into the gluten-free milling market with a deal for a North Dakota processor. Ardent Mills said Monday it plans to buy the assets of Firebird Artisan Mills, which processes pulses and specialty grains at Harvey, N.D., about 240 km south of Brandon, Man. […] Read more


File photo of equipment tracks over a field in England. (Georgeclerk/E+/Getty Images)

Regulations on gene-edited crops to be eased in England

London | Reuters — Britain’s farming and environment minister George Eustice announced Wednesday that regulations related to gene editing in agricultural research would be eased in England following a public consultation. Rules will now largely be aligned with conventional breeding methods for research and development into plants although scientists will still be required to notify […] Read more

Farmers plant saplings in a rice field on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India on July 5, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Amit Dave)

India unveils new rice variety to reduce water use, labour

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched an array of new high-yielding crop varieties, including herbicide-tolerant rice that can be directly sown into the soil, cutting expenditure on water and farm workers. In India, the world’s biggest rice exporter, the conventional method of rice cultivation requires farmers to sow […] Read more


It was Yamily Zavala’s enthusiasm and commitment to the idea and the support of local farmers, businesses and other institutions that made the CARA Soil Health Lab a reality. Zavala studied and worked in Venezuela, where she was born and raised, and later earned a PhD in soil and plant nutrition from Cornell University. She has spent a good part of her working life studying the soil ecosystem.

Soil studies just for the “health” of it

Alberta lab teaches farmers to be soil health investigators

[UPDATED: Oct. 6, 2021] Farmers spend a lot of time working in and on the soil. As the holder of crop nutrients and, hopefully, water, soil is literally the foundation for growing crops, although under extremely dry conditions, it may seem like just so much dirt. But aside from what a soil analysis might tell […] Read more

Aurora Cannabis in November 2019 opened a flagship retail store at the West Edmonton Mall, describing the 11,000-square foot shop as “both a retail cannabis store and an immersive experiential space.” (CNW Group/Aurora Cannabis Inc.)

Aurora Cannabis revenue short of expectations on lower pot demand

Reuters — Aurora Cannabis on Monday missed Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue as pandemic-related restrictions weighed down consumer demand, leading Canadian provinces to cut orders. U.S.-listed shares of the company, which also posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, were down two per cent in extended trading. After more than three years into Canada’s legalization of […] Read more


(Alexey Rezvykh/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Perfect storm’ causes fertilizer price spikes

'Most of us are in a "wait-and-see" position'

MarketsFarm — Fertilizer prices have increased over the past year, but could be headed even higher as a recent confluence of events has caused a shortage — the effects of which may affect producers past the New Year. “Particularly, in the last few weeks, there have been a number of supply events which have really […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC lowers ending stocks estimates on crops

MarketsFarm — Canadian producers will see much tighter grain and oilseed stocks at the end of the current 2021-22 marketing year than what was expected last month, while those for pulse and special crops remain mostly steady. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) September supply/demand estimates, released Friday, project 2021-22 ending stocks for all principal field […] Read more

(Xinzheng/Getty Images)

‘Two Michaels’ have left China, Trudeau says

Huawei CFO en route back to China

Ottawa | Reuters — Two Canadian citizens who were detained by Beijing for more than 1,000 days have left Chinese airspace and will arrive back in Canada early on Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters Friday. Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were picked up in December 2018, shortly after Vancouver police arrested Huawei Technologies […] Read more