Antwerp | Reuters –– European oil refiners urged the European Union on Monday to review laws calling for increased biodiesel content in road fuel because the cost of such renewables will counter the recent plunge in crude prices and weigh on the refining sector. “Governments should not inflict extra burden on the public by increasing […] Read more
Refiners urge EU to rethink renewables policy after oil collapse
Prairie CWRS bids ease with U.S. futures, CPSR up
CNS Canada — Average cash bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat deteriorated slightly during the week ended Friday, with losses in U.S. futures weighing on values. However, most other classes of wheat saw a slight improvement, as basis levels narrowed in. Average CWRS prices were generally down by about C$1 to $2 per […] Read more
Ex-Viterra chief returns to Agrium board
No longer lined up to lead Louis Dreyfus’ global commodities operations, Mayo Schmidt is back on the board of one of the world’s major ag retail and fertilizer firms. Schmidt — previously CEO at Viterra, Canada’s biggest grain handling firm, from 2000 to 2012 — had stepped down last month from Calgary-based Agrium’s board of directors in light of […] Read more
Court tosses CP’s appeal on U.S.-bound grain interswitching
Confirming that a deal is as good as a fixed asset, a Prairie grain handler gets to keep using a lower-price rail route from Alberta into Montana, now that a Federal Court ruling has shot down an appeal from the railway taking grain down to the border. Writing on Jan. 2, Judge J.D. Denis Pelletier […] Read more
Klassen: Feeders trade $2 to $6 higher
Western Canadian feeder cattle values started the year on a very strong tone. Lighter-weight calves under 700 pounds were a solid $4 to $6 higher in comparison to mid-December; replacements over 700 lbs. were $2 to $4 higher on average. This was the first week of major sales in 2015 and cattle buyers were extremely […] Read more
Sask. study strengthens case for chocolate milk
Pulling chocolate milk from schools over its sugar and calorie content may drive down children’s overall milk consumption at school and make the nutritional benefits tougher to replace, a new Saskatchewan study finds. Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, with funding from Dairy Farmers of Canada, have now looked at […] Read more
N.S. puts feed-in-tariff program on hold
Nova Scotia will stop taking applications for its local-level renewable electricity program pending a review. The province on Thursday announced seven new approvals under its Community Feed-In Tariff (COMFIT) program, but also that it will “pause and evaluate” the program. The pause, the province said, is meant to see that COMFIT “continues to be community-based, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle snap eight-day losing skid
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle posted modest gains on Friday on short-covering before Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday that snapped an eight-day string of losses, traders said. The U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday could result in roughly 5,000 fewer cattle and 30,000 less hogs processed that day, an economist […] Read more
Ont. boosts rewards for standardbred racehorses
Standardbred racehorse breeders in Ontario are hailing what they describe as a $12 million boost to the province’s Standardbred Improvement Program. The Ontario Racing Commission approved the program’s budget and elements earlier this week, pledging almost $16 million in purses for 2015 and just over $2 million in “Ontario Bred” and “Ontario Sired” rewards. The […] Read more
Wheat models show climate change pressuring yields
A combination of multiple computer models of weather’s impact on wheat warns of a six per cent dent in world wheat production for every degree Celsius in temperature increase. Scientists have been trying for 20 years to estimate effects of temperature increase and climate change on wheat production, which accounts for 20 per cent of […] Read more