Three separate buyers are poised to take up the Prairie assets of ill-fated W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions, pending an Alberta judge’s approval. An application went Thursday for approval before Justice Corina Dario of Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Calgary, from BDO Canada, the receiver for the Alberta-based grain and pulse handler and processor. […] Read more
Buyers found for five Prairie pulse plants
Approvals sought for W.A. Grain asset sales
BASF warns on seeding choices for drought-hit imi-treated fields
Steer clear of non-Clearfield canola, durum, canary seed in rotations, company says
Updated, Sept. 22 — The maker of Odyssey, Solo and Viper is warning grain growers whose fields were excessively dry in 2021 that those herbicides may not break down soon enough in those soils to allow certain seeding choices in 2022. BASF Canada on Monday issued an “urgent notice to growers” in which the company […] Read more
Federal agriculture minister leading on election night
CPC, NDP ag critics prevail; BQ critic in tight race
Canada’s incumbent agriculture minister was among the MPs expected to hold onto their seats in Monday’s snap federal election, in which Justin Trudeau’s Liberals return with a second minority government. As of Tuesday morning just after midnight CT, Marie-Claude Bibeau was leading in her Sherbrooke, Que.-area riding of Compton-Stanstead by a spread of over 3,300 […] Read more
CFA’s Hay West program up and running
Program website now online
A revival of the “Hay West” initiative, aimed at shipping feed from Eastern Canada to supplement drought-dented supplies in the West, has gone live. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture on Friday announced its Hay West 2021 initiative is “now operational and seeking applicants to both receive and supply hay.” Applicants interested in either supplying or […] Read more
Olymel to close former F. Menard bacon plant
Pork further-processing plant at Henryville to shut in November
Meat packer Olymel plans to shut a pork further-processing plant it operates in Quebec’s Monteregie by mid-November and pick up the work at its other sites. Olymel, the meats arm of Sollio Co-operative, said Wednesday it will permanently close the bacon plant at Henryville, about 60 km southeast of Montreal, effective Nov. 12. The closure […] Read more
Interview: Counting crops in advance
Reviewing the latest from StatsCan and USDA
Statistics Canada on Tuesday released new model-based estimates for the country’s principal field crops, projecting “substantial” yield declines for most of the major crops grown in Canada, due mainly to drought conditions across much of Western Canada during much of the growing season. The previous Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its latest world […] Read more
CP, Kansas City lock in new deal as CN steps out
More efficient flow of grain, perishables, machinery parts touted
Canadian Pacific Railway and U.S. railway Kansas City Southern on Wednesday again formalized their engagement after competing suitor Canadian National Railway walked away from the table. CP and KCS, which reported “unanimous” support from both companies’ boards, have entered a merger agreement committing CP to pay about $31 billion in cash and stock, or about […] Read more
Upgraded Olymel hog plant’s second shift begins
Ange-Gardien plant's slaughter pace to rise by up to 40 per cent
A promised second shift is now up and running at a major hog plant in Quebec’s Monteregie and is expected to eventually boost the plant’s weekly slaughter capacity by up to 40 per cent. Plans for a second shift at Olymel’s packing plant at Ange-Gardien, about 50 km east of Montreal, have been in the […] Read more
Slaughter resumes at Olymel hog plant
Return to usual pace expected 'in coming weeks'
Hog slaughter resumed Friday at a major Quebec pork plant that had sat idle for over four months, as striking employees now return to work with a new six-year contract. The Olymel plant at Vallee-Jonction, south of Quebec City, restarted daytime and evening hog slaughter shifts Friday after “maintenance and sanitation” work on Wednesday and […] Read more
Health Canada warns people not to take livestock dewormers
No evidence that drug is effective against COVID-19
“Concerning reports” of people in Canada seeking out veterinary-grade dewormers for personal use have led Health Canada to formally advise against doing so. News reports in Western Canada in the past week have described increased demand from non-farming consumers for veterinary-grade ivermectin, whether at livestock supply retailers or online. While ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug […] Read more