CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, orange and dark green lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat drops as U.S. dollar edges higher

Australia forecasts record wheat crop; corn, soy down on good South America weather

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures retreated on Monday on a firmer dollar and as a record harvest outlook from major exporter Australia eased recent concerns about rain-damaged crops. Corn and soybeans followed wheat lower, pressured by technical selling and profit-taking and by good weekend rains in Argentina and parts of Brazil. Chicago Board […] Read more

(CBSA via YouTube)

Canada shuts to seven African countries’ travelers

Latest COVID-19 variant spurs decision

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is closing its borders to foreign travelers who have recently been to seven southern African nations to help stop the spread of a newly identified variant of COVID-19, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters Friday. The European Union, the United States and Britain are among those tightening border controls as […] Read more


CBOT January 2022 soybeans (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (yellow, green and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: New COVID variant scares markets

Soybeans, wheat drop; corn rebounds

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell Friday as news of a new COVID-19 variant discovered in South Africa sent oil and equities markets lower, with moves exaggerated by low trade volume across the grain and oilseed commodities. Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans lost 13-3/4 cents, at $12.52-3/4 a bushel, the contracts biggest […] Read more

File photo outside Cargill’s beef slaughter and packing plant at High River, Alta. on May 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Todd Korol)

Cargill serves lockout notice on High River workers

Company 'willing to keep meeting' after offer rejected

Updated — Whether in a strike or a lockout, workers at one of Canada’s biggest beef slaughter plants took another step toward the picket line this week by voting to reject the company’s latest contract offer. A vote conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401 went to the […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

High River beef plant workers to vote on Cargill offer

UFCW bargaining committee is recommending nay

Workers on the verge of striking at Cargill’s major beef cattle slaughter plant at High River, Alta. will vote this week on a new contract offer from the company. However, the union bargaining committee for the workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, is recommending employees vote against the proposal. […] Read more

Delivery vans from the Save-On-Foods grocery store chain wait for a police escort to cross through a landslide near Hope, B.C. on Nov. 18, 2021 to restock the local grocery store after rainstorms caused flooding and landslides in the region. (Photo: Reuters/Jesse Winter)

Panicked shoppers clear out flood-hit B.C.’s grocery stores

Reuters — Shoppers in British Columbia have emptied grocery shelves following catastrophic flooding, although the shortages are as much down to panic buying as disrupted supply chains, industry associations said on Thursday. Even as flood waters start to recede, some parts of the province are expected to face to temporary shortages of dairy supplies, with […] Read more


(Firehouse Subs/BusinessWire)

Tim Hortons parent to buy Firehouse Subs as other brands drag

Chain's comparable year-to-date sales up 20 per cent against pre-pandemic levels

Reuters — Tim Hortons parent Restaurant Brands International said Monday it will buy sandwich chain Firehouse Subs for US$1 billion, at a time when its popular brands are struggling due to increased competition from rivals launching new menu items. Analysts have said fried chicken sandwich pioneer Popeyes, owned by RBI, has been hurt by McDonald’s […] Read more

How big are some of these container ships in our global supply chain? Below are a few facts that surprised me.

This pandemic ain’t over yet

Aside from human health issues, other ramifications are just emerging

Global pandemic or not, I just hope the shelves at either of the Canadian Tire stores within 10 minutes of my house do not go bare over the coming weeks. There are just a lot of things, like perhaps a 250-piece wrench set that complements the 125-piece screwdriver set I bought last year that I […] Read more


UFCW Local 401 board member and Cargill employee Joseph Kog (l) and Local 401 president Thomas Hesse with their strike notice on Nov. 10, 2021. (GoUnion.ca)

Cargill beef plant workers serve strike notice

Without a deal, High River workers will walk Dec. 6

Unionized workers at Cargill’s cattle slaughter and processing plant at High River, Alta. will start strike action next month unless a deal can be reached with the company, their union said Wednesday. A strike would begin at High River no sooner than Dec. 6 at 12:01 a.m. if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t reached […] Read more

Mink

B.C. calling halt to mink farming

Live mink on farms to be banned in 2023

British Columbia’s remaining mink farmers are “devastated” by the province’s proposal to phase out their industry over risks related to COVID-19. The province announced Friday it’s starting the process toward a permanent ban on mink farming — beginning with a ban on mink breeding, followed by a ban on live mink on farms by April […] Read more