Japan’s Imperial Palace and Nijubashi Bridge, in Tokyo. (CIA.gov)

TPP talks without U.S. near final stretch

Urayasu, Japan | Reuters — The 11 remaining nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States edged toward sealing a comprehensive free trade pact after New Zealand agreed to amend laws that are not subject to TPP, to enable its ban on foreign home purchases. The pact aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Major retailers say federal bread pricing probe underway

Major Canadian grocery retailers Metro and Loblaw say a federal investigation is underway concerning the pricing of certain commercial bread products. Toronto-based Loblaw and its parent firm, George Weston Ltd., announced Tuesday they’re aware of an “industry-wide investigation” by the federal Competition Bureau concerning a “price-fixing scheme involving certain packaged bread products.” The two companies […] Read more

Bridgeland, a UFA/CHS joint venture, operates this fertilizer plant at the RedTail Business Park south of Sexsmith, Alta. (Video screengrab from Bridgeland.ag)

CHS sells stake in Bridgeland input venture to UFA

On the heels of its move to sell its wholly-owned crop input stores in Alberta and Saskatchewan, U.S. ag co-operative CHS is selling its remaining Alberta ag retail asset. Alberta farmer co-op UFA (United Farmers of Alberta) announced Tuesday it’s buying CHS’s interest in the two firms’ joint ag retail venture, Bridgeland Limited Partnership, for […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. grains: Wheat falls to contract lows on technical selling

Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. wheat futures fell to contract lows on Tuesday as technical selling pressure dragged prices lower for a fifth straight session. Chart-based selling accelerated as prices slipped below the prior day’s two-month low, more than offsetting supportive news of a large export sale to Iraq and a government report showing the […] Read more


(SeedHawk.com)

Seed Hawk to take parent firm’s name

For Saskatchewan seeding, planting and tillage equipment maker Seed Hawk, the company name is changing but the brand remains the same. Seed Hawk, which has been 100 per cent owned by Swedish equipment manufacturer Vaderstad since 2013, has been renamed Vaderstad Industries effective Tuesday. The two companies said the name change “reflects the fuller integration […] Read more

(Richardson.ca)

CHS to shed Prairie crop input retail sites

U.S. farm co-operative CHS is stepping back from Canada’s Prairie crop input retail sector with a deal to sell its 10 retail locations to Richardson International. Winnipeg-based Richardson on Tuesday announced it would buy CHS’s Alberta retail sites at Alix, Beiseker, Bow Island, Carseland, Craddock, Lacombe, Rolling Hills, Standard and Vauxhall, and the co-op’s lone […] Read more

(Photo courtesy General Mills via Flickr)

Cheerios to remove ‘gluten-free’ claim

The maker of Cheerios cereal is pulling a controversial “gluten-free” claim from the product’s Canadian packaging starting in 2018, over what it says is a lack of a “consistent” testing protocol for oat products. General Mills announced last week it will remove the “gluten-free” claim from Cheerios sold in Canada starting in January, though it […] Read more



(Thinkstock photo)

U.S. grains: Wheat futures sink as dollar rallies

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures fell on Friday, their third straight day of declines, as a firm U.S. dollar further dampened the already poor prospects for U.S. supplies on the export market, traders said. Corn futures also weakened, weighed down by the drop in wheat, while soybeans firmed slightly. Strength in cash markets […] Read more