Latest Newsletter

CBOT January 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands, a gauge of market volatility. (Barchart)
Crops, Markets

U.S. grains: Soybeans slide, nearing support at US$9

By
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures fell to their lowest in almost two months on Thursday as uncertainty about progress in U.S.-China trade talks overshadowed support from stronger-than-expected weekly U.S. export sales, analysts said. Wheat futures also declined, backing down from a two-week high, but corn futures rose on signs of improving export and […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Crops, Machinery

Propane shortage looms as CN strike hits third day

By ,
Winnipeg/Ottawa | Reuters — Shippers scrambled to shift freight onto trucks on Thursday as a strike at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, hit its third day, leaving the critical fuel propane and other goods stranded. Some 3,200 unionized employees, including conductors and yard workers, hit picket lines on Tuesday in the biggest such action […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)

Federated Co-op to close Calgary distribution centre

By
The main supply outlet for Co-op grocery stores in southern Alberta and British Columbia is set to close in April as one of its main users takes its business elsewhere. Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) announced Thursday it will close its Calgary food distribution centre in April, a decision it said will eliminate just over 200 […] Read more
The harvesting of the rest of the Ontario corn crop could be held up by the CN strike, especially in eastern Ontario.
Crops, News

CN strike a threat for Ontario farmers

Inventory overload and lack of propane deliveries delays harvest

By
[Update Nov. 21, 2019] Farmers in southern and central Ontario are now reporting that they won’t get more propane delivered until after the CN strike is settled.   The more than 3,000 Canadian National Railway workers who walked off the job Tuesday put a wrench in an already-tough harvest for farmers. The strike is poorly […] Read more
Norbert Beaujot’s DOT system, shown here in Woodstock, Ont. in September 2019, has a new majority owner in South Dakota-based Raven Industries. (Farmtario photo by John Greig)
Crops, Machinery

U.S. manufacturer buys control of DOT Technology

By
A made-in-Canada self-guiding farm equipment platform has sold control of itself to one of its U.S. investors. Sioux Falls, S.D. precision agriculture manufacturer Raven Industries announced last week it has closed its deal to buy majority ownership in Regina-based DOT Technology Corp. for an undisclosed sum. DOT said the deal will allow it to “further […] Read more
Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks at a Montreal convention on March 7, 2019. Photo: Allan Dawson/File

Bibeau remains federal agriculture minister in shuffle

By
Updated, Nov. 21— Quebec MP Marie-Claude Bibeau retains her role as federal minister of agriculture and agri-food in Wednesday’s cabinet shake-up for the Liberals’ minority government. Bibeau will join her colleagues — including returning Transport Minister Marc Garneau and new Labour Minister Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP and former minister for seniors — in having […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Crops

Talks continue toward ending CN strike as factories slow output

By ,
Montreal/Winnipeg | Reuters — Talks to end a strike by thousands of workers at Canada’s biggest railroad, Canadian National Railway, continued on Wednesday, as industrial plants slowed output of products cut off from their markets. About 3,000 unionized workers, including conductors and yardmen, hit picket lines on Tuesday after talks with management failed to resolve […] Read more

Cyber-Savvy Farmer

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast