Alberta’s provincial crop insurance agency will “streamline” its inspection procedures to better deal with unharvested acres from last fall, the government said Wednesday. The announcement from provincial Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier follows a conference call with officials from Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) and from the province’s wheat, barley, canola and pulse grower commissions. “Balancing […] Read more
Cereals
Alberta pledges ‘streamlined’ crop insurance inspections
Trump tells Canada, Mexico he won’t terminate NAFTA treaty yet
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, a White House said. The announcement came after White House officials disclosed that Trump and his advisers […] Read more
Weather may put wrench in record-low summerfallow intentions
CNS Canada –– The amount of land left to summerfallow in Western Canada could hit a new record low in 2017, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, as the practice falls more and more out of favour. However, weather conditions still have the final say, with ‘unintended’ summerfallow a distinct possibility in 2017. Heading […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: U.S. weather supports corn, weighs on soy
CNS Canada –– Soybean and corn futures at the Chicago Board of Trade came under pressure over the past week, but are expected to see divergent moves in the near future as poor planting weather in the U.S. Midwest may see acreage shift out of corn and into soybeans. News that U.S. President Donald Trump […] Read more
White House readies order to quit NAFTA
Washington | Reuters — The White House is considering a draft executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement, a senior Trump administration official said on Wednesday. It was unclear whether the order would be enacted by President Donald Trump, who has vowed to pull out from the U.S./Mexico/Canada trade […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn tumbles on weather forecasts, NAFTA jitters
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn futures fell more than one per cent Wednesday on forecasts for better Midwest planting weather and news that the White House is considering an executive order on withdrawing from North American Free Trade Agreement, analysts said. Soybeans also declined and wheat turned lower as corn sagged. Chicago Board of […] Read more
Cargill to exit U.S. cattle feeding business
Chicago | Reuters — Cargill said on Wednesday it will exit the business of feeding cattle to direct capital toward other investments, the latest transformation for the global commodity trader. Minnesota-based Cargill struck a deal to sell its last two feed yards to ethanol producer Green Plains for US$36.7 million, after selling other feedyards to […] Read more
Grain Growers applauds move to accelerate CGC outward inspection fee reduction
Grain Growers of Canada says it is pleased to see an April 22 Canada Gazette notice that proposes an early reduction of Canadian Grain Commission outward inspection fees as of August 1, 2017. The accelerated reduction is ahead of the original schedule of new user fees which would have started April 1, 2018. “This move […] Read more
New lawsuit claims CWB kept $145 million of farmers’ money
Brookdale Manitoba farmer Andrew Dennis has filed a statement of claim in the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench claiming the now-defunct Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) withheld money owed to farmers to help finance its transition to a private grain company. Dennis is seeking certification of a class action lawsuit on behalf of all farmers who […] Read more
Alberta farm groups want provincial action on unharvested crops
A coalition of Alberta farm groups calling itself “Team Alberta” is meeting with the province’s agriculture minister and representatives from the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) on Wednesday seeking immediate action regarding approximately one million unharvested acres still sitting in farmers’ fields. They are recommending that farmers in the hardest hit areas of Alberta be […] Read more
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