FBC staff

Deere and Co. plans to boost the capacities of its parts depots in Regina as well as in three U.S. locations, making Regina a regional parts centre for the machinery firm. The company said in a release Friday that it plans to expand its primary parts distribution centre at Milan, Ill., west of Chicago near […] Read more

Canadian National Railway (CN) wants U.S. rail regulators to approve its proposed takeover of a Chicago-area shortline, then hold the environmental review later, to keep the deal from dying. CN on Friday said it has asked the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) to take a “new approach” to CN’s proposal to buy the Elgin, Joliet […] Read more

A new program expected to recycle at least 90 per cent of Ontario’s used tires by its fifth year of operation will include farm and off-road tires. The Ontario government on Thursday announced it has asked Waste Diversion Ontario, a non-Crown corporation set up by the province in 2002 to run waste diversion programs, to […] Read more

The Canadian Wheat Board’s critique last week of a recent study of its performance in world wheat and barley markets has come under fire in a review of its review. The study, prepared by Informa Economics for the pro-deregulation Alberta government and released late last month, claimed Prairie farmers would receive substantially higher returns for […] Read more

An unusually heavy year for crop hail claims in Saskatchewan got heavier in the past two weeks with 5,000 more claims filed, according to the Canadian Crop Hail Association. About 15,500 claims have now been filed with hail insurers that do business in Saskatchewan, the Prairie hail insurers’ group said Thursday in its biweekly report. […] Read more

Agricultural pesticides will be under the microscope at a conference to be hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society Nov. 12 and 13 in Toronto. “Exploring the Connection — A State of the Science Conference on Pesticides and Cancer” will feature speakers from around the world who have expertise in assessing pesticide exposure and cancer risk […] Read more

Winnipeg grain handling equipment firm Ag Growth says its order backlog remains at “record levels” due to “exceptional” demand for its companies’ products. From the companies that it bought before Jan. 1, 2007, the income trust on Wednesday posted an increase in sales of $9.8 million over the year-earlier period and a gross margin of […] Read more

A new set of rules will govern any future expansion of southern Ontario’s protected “Greenbelt” zone. The provincial government on Wednesday said these new criteria, drawn up in consultation with the public and municipalities, will be used to assess municipal requests to expand the Greenbelt to cover more forests, wetlands and farmlands. The new criteria […] Read more

Farm workers on Prince Edward Island will take part in Canada’s first-ever farm technician apprenticeship program, the provincial and federal governments announced Wednesday. Under the program, farm workers will get a combination of classroom instruction and on-farm experience to qualify as farm technicians under the provincial apprenticeship program. The program is to be developed and […] Read more