Winnipeg-based Legumex Walker’s pulse plants are Scoular’s first major play in the Prairie crops sector. (Dave Bedard photo)

Legumex Walker shareholders approve sale

Shareholders in Prairie special crops processor Legumex Walker have voted to take a deal for their company’s assets from U.S. grain firm Scoular. Winnipeg-based Legumex reported Monday that shareholders representing just over 76 per cent of its stock have voted 99.6 per cent in favour of selling the company’s special crops division to the Scoular […] Read more

(FPCommerce.com)

Canaryseed prices soft, trending weaker

CNS Canada –– Canada’s canaryseed market is slow and stagnant, according to a Saskatchewan-based industry expert, and he expects prices to move lower before improving. Delivered elevator canaryseed is bringing producers 26.5 to 29 cents/lb., according to Prairie Ag Hotwire. “We might see 25 cents/lb. before we see 30 cents/lb.,” said David Nobbs, chair of […] Read more

(Syngenta.com)

Syngenta reported rejecting ChemChina takeover offer

Reuters — Syngenta has rejected ChemChina’s offer to buy the Swiss agricultural chemicals group, citing regulatory concerns, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. China National Chemical Corp., better known as ChemChina, offered about 449 Swiss francs (C$597) per share for Syngenta, valuing the Basel, Switzerland-based company at about 41.7 billion Swiss francs (C$55.4 billion), according to the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

EU scientists say glyphosate unlikely to cause cancer

Brussels | Reuters — Glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which nevertheless proposed limits on Thursday on the amount of residue of the herbicide widely used by farmers deemed safe to consume. The EFSA advises EU policymakers and its conclusion could lead the 28-member European […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Flax exports up after dry spell, prices stay soft

CNS Canada — Western Canadian flax producers have seen a decline in prices, due in part to weak exports — but the most recent data from the Canadian Grain Commission show a dramatic increase in sales. “Prices have definitely come down, we know that,” said Don Kerr, president at the Flax Council of Canada in […] Read more

(PortSeattle.org)

Cereals North America: Shift to La Nina may hurt yields

Winnipeg | CNS Canada –– El Nino weather patterns are typically beneficial to North American grain yields, but cut into the production prospects of key Eastern Hemisphere demand markets, according to presenters at this week’s Cereals North America conference. However, an expected shift toward La Nina conditions by late 2016 could see North American grain yields […] Read more

Canada’s new Agriculture and Agri-Foods Minister Lawrence MacAulay (l) is sworn-in during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa November 4, 2015. Photo: REUTERS/Chris Wattie

Lawrence MacAulay sworn in as Canada’s new agriculture minister

Ottawa/Manitoba Co-operator – Only hours after being sworn in by Governor General David Johnston and mere minutes after leaving his first cabinet meeting, Canada’s newly minted Minister of Agriculture paused to speak with reporters gathered on Parliament Hill Nov. 3. “I’m certainly pleased,” said Lawrence MacAulay. “Being a dairy farmer and a seed potato farmer […] Read more


(PeteLuckett.com)

Pete Luckett’s stores to become arm of Sobey’s

A hero to foodies across Canada is set to sell his retail and wholesale grocery businesses in Nova Scotia off to grocery giant Sobeys. Pete Luckett, the owner of the Pete’s Fine Foods stores in Halifax and Bedford, N.S. and a related wholesale business, announced Thursday he’ll sell those operations to Nova Scotia-based Sobeys for […] Read more

(MonsantoStore.corpmerchandise.com)

Monsanto to shut three R+D centres next year

Chicago | Reuters –– Agrichemical company Monsanto plans to shutter three research and development centers in 2016 with a loss of about 90 jobs, it said Monday, as it restructures operations to cut costs in a slumping agricultural commodity market. The centers are in Middleton, Wisconsin, and Mystic, Connecticut, both of which focus on seed […] Read more