Good question. While we don’t yet have an answer, the federal Competition Bureau’s recent language suggests Bunge’s continued part-ownership of G3 would be a regulatory sore spot in a merger with Viterra. The basic background: U.S.-based Bunge, the “B” in the “ABCD” group of companies that handle the bulk of global grain trade, last June […] Read more
Would Bunge have to get out of G3?
Editor’s Rant: Strike one, two, three, et cetera
By the time the paper version of this issue reaches you (around May 28), we’ll probably know whether Canada’s rail engineers, conductors and yard workers have reached a new collective bargaining agreement, or hit the picket line for yet another strike, or been legislated back to work. Prairie grain farmers have already seen this movie […] Read more
Broadleaf herbicide formulations set for cereal crops
Corteva, Adama launch new combination products
A combo of Group 4 and 2 actives is Corteva Agriscience’s latest entry for spring and winter wheat and barley growers in the Prairies’ Black and Grey soil zones to use against broadleaf weeds. Extinguish XL, launched in mid-March, is billed as a “pre-formulated, all-in-one application that delivers control of tough weeds like cleavers, dandelion, […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: Fluency in flu
When this issue hits your mailbox (on or around May 7), we’ll be at about the peak of one of the best meteor showers Earth sees this year. Wishing on shooting stars is silly at best, but if I see one — other than my standing wish for seven bucks and the winning 6/49 ticket […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: On the payment plan
As much as I get the general idea behind raising interest rates to keep inflation in check, I do have to wonder if the Bank of Canada and other central banks quite grasp how much their rate hikes over the past couple of years have driven and continue to drive up the cost of literally […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: Product placement
It’s been many, many years since I was foolish enough to think I might have all the answers. In this space, be prepared to see me asking questions. At the very least — though I’ve also long since given up the idea of ever appearing on Jeopardy! — my responses will often be in the […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: The customer is always right
Hi, my name’s Dave and I’m a Cheerios consumer. So I’ve got to admit, any news article that name-drops Cheerios grabs my attention much more effectively than an article mentioning, say, Taylor Swift. (I’ll stop here briefly as a public service to warn that if you somehow happened on this article by accident, that last […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: Planning for failure
Since this issue of Grainews is supposed to be on the press in two hours or less, there’s a good chance this week that I’ll either be very brief in this space, or not nearly brief enough. I really loathe leaving things like this to the last minute, but this past week didn’t work out […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: All hail Skynet
Well, folks, my longtime colleague Lee Hart has done something even more impressive than usual over on page 14. Over the years I’ve read articles and columns in this paper that have left me concerned for farmers, concerned for their crops and livestock, concerned for my RRSPs and concerned for the economy, but his article […] Read more
Editor’s Rant: Playing the long game
I think I’ve recently alarmed a few people who know me, as I’ve taken a much greater interest in watching hockey on TV. It surprises me too. I moved to Winnipeg not long before the previous iteration of the Jets bolted for Arizona, which left me even more soured on most pro sports. (After the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
