The Canadian Horticultural Council’s on-farm food safety certification program for growers of fresh fruit and vegetables will launch Sept. 1, the council announced Thursday. In a release, the CHC noted that growers’ customers may then request that the growers have program certification, to ensure that the council’s on-farm food safety (OFFS) manuals are being followed. […] Read more
Hort food safety program set for Sept. 1
PotashCorp faces strike as sales bust records
A possible potash miners’ strike now looms over PotashCorp as the Saskatchewan fertilizer firm posts its highest quarterly earnings ever. Saskatoon-based Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan on Thursday racked up net income of $905.1 million (all figures US$) on $2.62 billion in sales in the second quarter (Q2) ending June 30, up from $285.7 million on […] Read more
Maple Leaf faces $9M loss in Q2
Further price hikes and benefits from the restructuring of its meat business are expected to help Maple Leaf Foods recover from what’s so far been a cash-losing year. The Toronto food processing giant on Thursday posted a loss of $9.35 million on $1.36 billion in sales in its second quarter (Q2) ending June 30, down […] Read more
JRI backs work on Sask. landmark barn
Winnipeg grain company James Richardson International (JRI) has put up a major pledge to rebuild the oldest major farm structure in Saskatchewan. JRI on Wednesday pledged $50,000 toward the Bell Barn Society of Indian Head‘s $1 million reconstruction and site development project, and will pledge a further 50 cents for every dollar pledged by other […] Read more
Sask. pulse processor expands south
Alliance Grain Traders, a Regina income fund that owns pulse processing operations in three countries, has inked a deal to buy another fellow processor close to home. Tradewind Commodities, which AGT describes as a “leading pulse and special crops processor” at Milestone, Sask., about 60 km due south of Regina, has signed a memorandum of […] Read more
Monsanto Canada names new president
U.S. seed and chemical giant Monsanto has named one of its U.S. regional directors to lead the company’s Canadian business operations. Lisa Safarian, currently the parent company’s regional business director for its north/central region based in St. Louis, Mo., will move to Winnipeg next month to become president and general manager of Monsanto Canada. Safarian, […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: Corn land rents for US$450
One of the “most aggressive farmers” in central Illinois will pay a record cash rent of US$450 per acre for 800 acres of corn and soybean land southeast of Springfield, AgriMarketing magazine reports. The Missouri-based magazine for marketers and communicators in the North American ag industry on Monday quoted a “prominent professional farm manager” in […] Read more
Beef centre names communications chief
Former Alberta Farmer Express editor Janet Kanters is the new stakeholder communications manager for the Beef Information Centre (BIC). BIC, with offices in Calgary and Mississauga, is the beef market development division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Kanters, the Alberta farm newspaper’s editor from June 2006 to November 2007, has previously worked for Alberta’s provincial […] Read more
NFU calls on feds to block Lakeside sale
A major beef packing plant sale that would create “one of the most concentrated markets in the North American food system” shouldn’t be allowed to go ahead without major concessions, the National Farmers Union urged Tuesday. U.S. meat giant Tyson Foods announced last month it will sell its Lakeside Farm Industries plant at Brooks, Alta., […] Read more
CPR’s Q2 grain revenue drops
Despite raising its freight rates against rising fuel costs, Canadian Pacific Railway posted a sharp drop in profits plus a four per cent smaller grain handle in its second quarter ending June 30. “This was a tough quarter with the unprecedented rise in fuel prices, the North American economic downturn, and prolonged flooding on our […] Read more
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