Winnipeg grain firm Richardson International has started work on a new high-throughput grain elevator in southwestern Saskatchewan, to be bookended by smaller elevators it already operates in the region. The company said Monday it began construction work earlier this month at Carmichael, about 65 km southwest of Swift Current, about three km south of the […] Read more
Richardson building new southwestern Saskatchewan elevator
On-site crop inputs facility to follow
Quebec names mediator in Exceldor poultry strike
Major chicken plant's workers off job since May 23
The Quebec government has brought in a mediator to try to restart labour talks that stalled ahead of a strike at one of the province’s biggest poultry plants. Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet on Friday named Helene Poulin as a special mediator on the labour dispute at the Exceldor poultry plant at Saint-Anselme, about 30 […] Read more
JBS Canada plant up and running after cyberattack
Brooks beef plant has 'resumed production'
Meat packer JBS’s major beef slaughter plant in Alberta went back to work Tuesday following a cyberattack reported to have downed several of the company’s operations in North America and Australia. JBS USA, the unit overseeing the Brazilian firm’s Canadian operations, and JBS-owned chicken unit Pilgrim’s Pride both reported “significant progress in resolving the cyberattack […] Read more
Feather sector’s on-farm upgrade program underway
Applications now being accepted for funding
The federal free trade compensation program to help Canada’s poultry and egg producers pay for on-farm upgrades, renovations and improvements is now taking applications. The $646.8 million, 10-year Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program (PEFIP) is now formally underway, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday. Each eligible Canadian producer is entitled to an amount proportional […] Read more
OIE ruling turns page on BSE in Canada
Canada's BSE status upgraded to 'negligible risk'
The international body overseeing countries’ animal disease control measures has assigned Canada the lowest level of risk for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) — a move which stands to help clear away lingering trade barriers against Canadian beef. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on Thursday announced it has delivered “negligible risk” status for BSE […] Read more
Ceres plans southern Saskatchewan canola crush plant
U.S. firm to build plant at border grain terminal
U.S. ag commodities firm Ceres Global Ag, which in recent years has built up a Prairie grain and oilseed origination hub near the North Dakota border in southeastern Saskatchewan, now plans to crush canola there also. The Minneapolis company said Tuesday it plans to spend US$350 million to build an integrated crush plant with capacity […] Read more
DOT, AutoCart autonomous equipment lines rebranded
Parent firm Raven Industries' products tied to new brand
U.S. precision agriculture equipment firm Raven Industries has set up a unifying brand for its acquired product lines, including the Canadian-born DOT autonomous field tool system. South Dakota-based Raven on May 12 launched the OMNi brand for its autonomous platform, rebranding DOT as OMNiPower and the AutoCart system as OMNiDrive. All of Raven’s intelligent autonomous […] Read more
Olymel gets home province’s backing for plant upgrades
Quebec to invest $150 million in packer
Pork and poultry producer and packer Olymel has picked up equity investments from its home province to support a total of $315 million in plant upgrades. The Quebec government announced Tuesday it would invest $74 million in Olymel through its economy and innovation ministry’s Fonds pour la croissance des entreprises quebecois (FCEQ) plus $76 million […] Read more
Federal reprieve for imidacloprid cuts its application rates
Proposal for near-total ban rejected in Health Canada's final decision
A member of the neonicotinoid family of insesticides and seed treatments has been pulled back from the brink of an all-out ban in Health Canada’s final re-evaluation ruling. Most agricultural uses of imidacloprid — sold by Bayer under brands such as Gaucho, Merit and Admire, and by Adama under brands such as Alias and Sombrero […] Read more
Manitoba cautions on manganese in well water
About a third of wells exceed updated limits, province says
A significant number of wells in Manitoba may be carrying water with manganese levels well above new health standards, particularly for infants. The province on May 3 issued an advisory for owners of private wells that their water “may exceed a new health-based guideline” for the trace element. The element occurs naturally, and commonly, in […] Read more
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