Latest Newsletter

A hemp plant in Alberta. (Jennifer Blair photo)
Crops

Cannabis firm Aphria mulls sale of U.S. unit

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Reuters — Canadian cannabis company Aphria said Thursday it was exploring “strategic alternatives,” including a sale, for its U.S. business, amid tightening enforcement of federal cannabis laws in the country. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice revoked an Obama administration policy that discouraged federal prosecutors from pursuing marijuana-related crimes in states that had […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Machinery, Markets

Rising diesel could surge with U.S. infrastructure plan

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CNS Canada — Diesel costs in Western Canada are roughly eight to 10 cents higher on average than anytime in 2017, and an industry expert warns that gap could grow even more with a potential surge of U.S. construction. “I think we’re already seeing more evidence of a robust, consumption-driven U.S. as more disposable income […] Read more
Crops

Zimbabwe to give white farmers 99-year leases

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Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture. Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the southern African nation, after former president Robert Mugabe’s government evicted more than 4,000 […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Markets

FCC sees benefits in new Trans-Pacific trade pact

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CNS Canada — The future of trade for the Canadian agriculture industry is looking bright from the perspective of Canada’s federal ag lending agency, with progress on the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). According to Farm Credit Canada (FCC), anytime Canada can get less-restricted access to markets it is good for agriculture. “We can […] Read more
(Nuuvera.com)
Crops

Ontario medical marijuana producers plan major merger

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A southwestern Ontario greenhouse firm billed as one of Canada’s lowest-cost medical marijuana producers plans to expand its reach by buying a rival firm sourcing cannabis worldwide for processing. Aphria Inc., based at Leamington, Ont., announced Monday it has locked in a cash-and-stock deal to buy Toronto-based Nuuvera Inc. for $826 million. The deal, expcted […] Read more
An unauthorized outdoor cannabis “grow” operation found by RCMP northwest of Winnipeg in August 2013. (Photo courtesy Manitoba RCMP)
Crops

Canadians spent $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017

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Ottawa | Reuters — Canadians spent an estimated $5.7 billion on cannabis in 2017, Statistics Canada said on Thursday, with the country on track to legalize recreational use of the drug nationwide later this year. About 4.9 million Canadians between the ages of 15 to 64 purchased both medical and non-medical cannabis last year, the […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Crops

France says will not ban glyphosate when no alternative

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Saint-Genes-Champanelle, France | Reuters — France will not force farmers to stop using glyphosate after a ban planned within three years, in cases where an alternative has not been found, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday. He added that this would likely concern 10 per cent of farms while solutions could be found for the […] Read more
(CanniMedTherapeutics.com)
Crops

Aurora, CanniMed to form Canadian weed giant

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Two major players in the Canadian medical marijuana market are set to create one of the world’s biggest pot production firms in a friendly $1.1 billion cash-and-stock deal. Edmonton-based Aurora Cannabis announced an agreement Wednesday in which it will ante up on its previous hostile bid for CanniMed Therapeutics and buy all the shares of […] Read more
(PortMetroVancouver.com)
Markets

Canada in on TPP pact, to be signed in March

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Tokyo | Reuters — Eleven countries aiming to forge a Asia-Pacific trade pact after the U.S. pulled out of an earlier version will sign an agreement in Chile in March, Japan’s economy minister said on Tuesday. Trade officials had been meeting in Tokyo to resolve rifts including Canada’s insistence on protections for its cultural industries […] Read more
(Arkansas.gov)
Crops

Arkansas restricts dicamba for 2018

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Chicago | Reuters — In a blow to manufacturers Monsanto and BASF, Arkansas state lawmakers voted on Friday to bar sprayings of a controversial weed killer after mid-April to protect farmers from potential crop damage. Arkansas will prohibit the use of herbicides based on dicamba from April 16 to Oct. 31, the strictest state limits […] Read more

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