A deal for Agrium’s Crop Production Services (CPS) to buy a crop input retail chain in north-central Saskatchewan will require the company to sell off a retail outlet and a pair of its storage sites. The federal Competition Bureau on Monday announced it has an agreement with CPS over its planned deal to buy six […] Read more
CPS to seek buyer for Sask. farm supply outlet
Tories’ ex-ag critic named Manitoba ag minister
Manitoba’s incoming Progressive Conservative government has tapped one of its former critics on the agriculture and food file as its new minister of agriculture. Ralph Eichler, the MLA for the Interlake-area constituency of Lakeside since 2003, was sworn in Tuesday along with Premier Brian Pallister and 11 other cabinet ministers at Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for […] Read more
Ottawa plans talks toward dairy farmers’ CETA compensation
The federal government has pledged to meet with dairy sector representatives within 30 days to draw up a compensation plan for concessions made in Canada’s planned free trade pact with the European Union. “Our conversations will address, among other issues, transition support for producers and processors, as well as proposed program and investment options,” Agriculture […] Read more
Poultry at risk for avian flu during migration
Cases of avian flu in commercial poultry in the U.S. and Mexico earlier this year are believed to have come from wild birds, which are now migrating north for the season, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Friday. Avian influenza spreads when wild birds come into contact with commercial/small flocks, the agency said, urging producers […] Read more
West’s hog farmers urged to insist trailers cleaned in Canada
Hog industry officials in Western Canada want hog producers to insist that livestock trailers coming to their farms be washed at certified Canadian cleaning facilities — even if the trailers were just cleaned on the U.S. side of the border. The recommendation comes as a federally-approved trailer-wash pilot project, credited with helping to keep porcine epidemic diarrhea […] Read more
Cost index for railways’ grain revenue cap gets boost
The loonie’s decline since last year has led federal regulators to dial up the index guiding how much money Canada’s big two railways get to keep from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced Friday it will raise its volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) by 4.8 per cent, to 1.3275, for the 2016-17 […] Read more
Earls ups ante on beef sourcing
Vancouver-based Earls Restaurants, owner of the upscale-casual dining chain Earls Kitchen + Bar, has gone all in on Certified Humane Beef — but has also gone outside Canada to get it. The company, which operates 59 Earls restaurants in Canada and seven in the U.S., on Tuesday billed itself as the first North American chain […] Read more
Farms.com buys Better Farming
A U.S. online agriculture firm has taken another step into paper and ink with a deal for independent Ontario ag journal Better Farming. Ames, Iowa-based Farms.com announced last week it has taken a majority stake in Better Farming publisher Ag Media Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Ag Media was formed in 1999 by ex-employees of […] Read more
CN books lower first-quarter grain handle
Higher revenue per carload offset reduced grain and fertilizer traffic for Canadian National Railway (CN) in its first fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN on Monday reported overall net income of $792 million on total revenues of $2.964 billion for the quarter ending March 31, up from $704 million on $3.098 billion in the year-earlier Q1. The […] Read more
CP pulls more grain for less in first quarter
Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) hauled more carloads of Canadian grain in its first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year — but for less revenue per car. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday reported overall net income of $540 million on revenues of $1.591 billion for its quarter ending March 31, up from $320 […] Read more
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