Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper meet at Meech Lake’s Willson House at Chelsea, Que. on Tuesday. (Deb Ransom photo courtesy PMO)

Talks wrap on Canada/Ukraine free trade pact

Canada’s crop and livestock producers expect to benefit soon from a free trade agreement with Ukraine, on which the two countries’ governments have now formally completed talks. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday, during a visit from Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, that trade negotiations between the two countries wrapped up in Kiev on July 9, and […] Read more

Russia, Ukraine may cut grain crop forecasts as temperatures rise

Moscow/Kiev | Reuters — Major Black Sea wheat exporters Russia and Ukraine may cut their official 2015 grain crop forecasts as recent hot weather has raised the risks to plants and rains elsewhere have delayed the harvest and dented quality, farmers and officials said. Russia and Ukraine’s agriculture ministries have said if hot weather persists […] Read more











combine harvesting rice

Familiar brands at work in Ukraine

Ukrainian farmers are increasingly choosing Western and even Canadian-built machinery

Ukraine is potentially one of the largest markets for high-quality agricultural machinery. It’s a huge country, at least by European standards, with varied soil and climatic conditions. And the equipment Ukrainian farmers often opt for includes brands familiar to Canadians, such as Versatile, Bourgault, Kello-Bilt, Schulte and Massey Ferguson. Two months ago I was on […] Read more

Motherland Monument, Kiev. (CIA.gov)

Ukraine ceasefire may, or may not, weigh on wheat

CNS Canada –– A tentative ceasefire in eastern Ukraine could lead to adjustments in the global grain markets, with softening wheat prices a possibility. Conflict in eastern Ukraine has been an underlying factor in grains and oilseeds markets over the past year, with the uncertainty of the situation providing both bearish and bullish incentives for […] Read more