The Canadian arm of fast-food giant McDonald’s isn’t yet moving to follow its U.S. counterpart’s plans to phase out use of certain antibiotics on chickens in its supply chain. The U.S. chain announced Wednesday it would move, over the next two years, to only purchase chicken “raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine.” […] Read more
McDonald’s to ‘evaluate’ antibiotic use in Canadian chicken
Fababeans making more inroads on Prairies
CNS Canada — Fababean acres are on the rise in Western Canada, as the crop is seen as a good pulse alternative for producers seeking other options in their rotations. Better disease resistance and ease of harvest have been two selling points for the crop. “We’ve had significant uptake on fababeans,” said Leanne Fischbuch, executive […] Read more
Sask. backs new northeastern shortline
A Canadian National Railway (CN) spur line in northeastern Saskatchewan, set to become the province’s 14th shortline this spring, has picked up provincial financing. The provincial government on Wednesday announced an interest-free loan worth about $550,000 for Kinistino-based Northern Lights Railroad to buy 59 km of track from Melfort west to Birch Hills on CN’s […] Read more
Argentine farmers to halt crop sales for three days in protest
Buenos Aires | Reuters –– Argentine farmers will suspend grain sales for three days to protest export quotas and other government policies they say hurt profits, the country’s main growers’ organizations said Tuesday. The strike will start on Wednesday, March 11, leaders of three of Argentina’s biggest farm groups told a press conference. “This action […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola testing major support
CNS Canada — ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were lower for the week ended Wednesday, as continued losses in soybeans, and technical factors, weighed on canola values. The spillover weakness from soybeans was pronounced, according to analyst Wayne Palmer of Agri-Trend Marketing in Winnipeg, who noted beans were 40 cents off their nearby highs. The […] Read more
CBOT weekly: Soybeans, corn await next USDA reports
CNS Canada –– Soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) moved up and down during the week ended Wednesday, but posted losses on the whole as concerns over a truckers’ strike in Brazil subsided. While large South American crop prospects remain a bearish influence in the background, the market could be due for […] Read more
Russia starts spring seeding with raised hopes for harvest
Moscow | Reuters –– Russian farmers have started their spring seeding campaign with prospects for the 2015 crop brighter than first thought, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday. Russia, one of the main key wheat exporters to North Africa and the Middle East, needs a good crop after a sharp drop in the rouble has […] Read more
Australia clears JBS bid for pork firm Primo
Sydney | Reuters — Australian regulators have approved a bid by the U.S. arm of Brazilian beef giant JBS to acquire Australian Consolidated Food Holdings Pty. Ltd. (Primo) for an undisclosed sum, Treasurer Joe Hockey said on Wednesday. The approval by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), subject to conditions at Primo’s abattoir, allows the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans drop for third day
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell for a third straight session on Wednesday as the end of a truckers’ strike in Brazil and easing concerns about a farmers’ protest in Argentina reduced fears of major South American export disruptions. Wheat fell under the combined pressure of a stronger dollar, which makes U.S. grain […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs veer sharply higher
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures posted steep gains Wednesday on fund buying and cash price optimism that wiped out Tuesday’s losses, traders said. April closed up the three-cent-per-pound price limit at 154.05 cents, and June ended 2.65 cents higher at 146.325 cents (all figures US$). CME live cattle’s trading limit […] Read more