Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian marijuana companies, facing potential limits on advertising for recreational pot, are selling health food products and cultivating a lifestyle image to win customers in an anticipated multibillion dollar market. Canada is set to become the first G7 country to legalize recreational marijuana nationally when it introduces legislation next spring. Medical […] Read more
Marijuana firms look to get creative with brand building
Panel calls for Canada to require plain-packaged pot products
Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government should regulate the production of cannabis when it is legalized for recreational use and require plain packaging for such products, an official panel recommended on Tuesday, a potential setback to growers who hoped to build brands. How cannabis is sold should be left up to the provinces and […] Read more
Trump win unlikely to impact Dow deal, DuPont CEO says
Boston | Reuters — DuPont CEO Ed Breen said on Thursday the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is not likely to have an impact on his company’s planned merger with rival Dow Chemical. While Trump was critical of other large mergers during the campaign, Breen said many U.S. Justice Department officials reviewing the […] Read more
Fertilizer prices ‘float along’ with eyes on China, corn
CNS Canada — It’s shaping up to be a typical winter season for fertilizer prices, according to an industry expert, but he cautions plant expansions in the U.S., corn acreage and the murky world of Chinese exports will all play a part in determining any price spikes in coming months. “We’re probably expecting a typical […] Read more
Polar vortex redux? U.S. forecasters say it could hit next week
Chicago | Reuters –– Forecasters are sending chills down some spines with a prediction that much of the northern half of the U.S. could see frigid weather next week similar to life-threatening lows the polar vortex brought to parts of the country in 2014. Anticipation of a freezing blast began to build this week when […] Read more
U.S. forecaster sees weak La Nina likely to fade in early 2017
New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said weak La Nina conditions were present but favoured to dissipate in the coming months. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said in a monthly forecast that conditions were likely to transition back to neutral during January through March. The report said […] Read more
Flower growers turn to weed ahead of legalization
Winnipeg | Reuters — Some Canadian flower growers are turning to weed, with the country’s plan to legalize marijuana for recreational use expected to spur a spike in legal sales of the drug. While medical marijuana is already legal in Canada, the Liberal government said in April it will introduce a law in 2017 to […] Read more
Record crops to send grain stocks to all-time peak, IGC says
London | Reuters –– Global grain stocks are expected to surpass 500 million tonnes for the first time at the end of the 2016-17 season, the International Grains Council said on Thursday, raising its forecasts for both corn and wheat production. The intergovernmental body, in a monthly update, put total grain carryover stocks at the […] Read more
PMRA seeks phase-out for neonic pesticide imidacloprid
Canadian farm use of the pesticide imidacloprid, from the controversial neonicotinoid family, is facing a three- to five-year phase-out from approval over its potential risks to aquatic insects. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) on Wednesday announced it had completed a re-evaluation of the pesticide and has kicked off a 90-day public consultation period, […] Read more
PotashCorp to cut jobs, output as prices sag
Reuters — Fertilizer maker PotashCorp said Wednesday it was reducing jobs and output at one Saskatchewan mine and temporarily curtailing production at two others as the sector struggles with weak prices. The company said it would cut production at its Cory potash mine, just west of Saskatoon, to 800,000 million tonnes a year from 1.4 […] Read more
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