Norbert Beaujot’s DOT system, shown here in Woodstock, Ont. in September 2019, has a new majority owner in South Dakota-based Raven Industries. (Farmtario photo by John Greig)

U.S. manufacturer buys control of DOT Technology

A made-in-Canada self-guiding farm equipment platform has sold control of itself to one of its U.S. investors. Sioux Falls, S.D. precision agriculture manufacturer Raven Industries announced last week it has closed its deal to buy majority ownership in Regina-based DOT Technology Corp. for an undisclosed sum. DOT said the deal will allow it to “further […] Read more



(TeamstersRail.ca)

CN conductors on strike

Unionized conductors, trainpersons and yard workers at Canadian National Railway are on strike as of Tuesday morning. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), whose CTY arm represents about 3,000 unionized CN staff, announced late Monday its members would stop work at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday. “Unfortunately, we were unable to reach a deal with CN,” […] Read more

(TeamstersRail.ca)

Teamsters serve strike notice on CN

Teamster-led workers in contract talks with Canadian National Railway could be on the picket line as early as 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday after serving strike notice on the company. The Teamsters Canadian Rail Conference – Conductors, Trainpersons and Yardpersons (TCRC-CTY), which represents about 3,200 CN conductors and railyard co-ordinators in Canada, has served 72 hours’ […] Read more

(JimPattison.com)

Juice producer Lassonde to buy Sun-Rype

Canada’s domestic fruit juice sector is poised for consolidation as Quebec’s Lassonde Industries mounts a friendly $80 million bid for Sun-Rype Products. Lassonde recently announced it has entered an agreement with subsidiaries of Sun-Rype’s owner, the Jim Pattison Group, to buy the Kelowna, B.C.-based fruit snack and juice maker and its two U.S. affiliates for […] Read more


(Syngenta.ca)

Syngenta to halt Canadian cereal development operations

Seed and ag chem giant Syngenta plans to wrap up a decade of cereal seed research and development work in Canada by the end of the year. The company announced Wednesday it will discontinue its Canadian cereal seed research and development program effective at the end of calendar 2019, affecting five Syngenta Canada staff positions. […] Read more

In a photo posted Nov. 6, incoming Berthier-Maskinonge MP Yves Perron meets with the riding’s outgoing NDP MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau to pick up active files from her constituency office. (Facebook)

Bloc Quebecois president tapped as party’s ag critic

The Bloc Quebecois will head into the House of Commons next month with a new critic handling the agriculture portfolio. Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has named Yves Perron, the rookie MP for Berthier-Maskinonge, as the party’s critic for agriculture, agri-food and supply management. As the Bloc’s ag critic, Perron replaces Mirabel MP Simon Marcil, who […] Read more

Agropur’s Fromagerie Damafro had been known as the developer of Quebec’s first-ever soft washed rind cheese, sold under the Saint-Damase brand. (OurCheeses.com)

Agropur halts talks with Quebec goat dairy producers

Agropur has gone back to Plan A for the fate of a major Quebec soft cheese processing plant after halting talks with the province’s goat dairy farmer association. Canada’s biggest dairy co-operative had announced in September last year it would close the former Fromagerie Damafro plant at Saint-Damase, Que. in April this year, but delayed […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Third-quarter grain handle down for CN, CP

Canada’s Big Two railways both booked reduced traffic but increased their revenue per carload in their grain handling segments for their third fiscal quarters ending Sept. 30. Canadian National Railway on Tuesday reported third-quarter net income of $1.195 billion on $3.83 billion in total revenues, up from $1.134 billion on $3.688 billion in the year-earlier […] Read more

Screenshot from a video posted on YouTube showing animal rights activists entering a turkey barn at the Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony on Labour Day.

Charges laid in Alberta turkey farm occupation

A high-profile occupation last month by protestors at an Alberta Hutterite colony’s turkey farm has led to criminal charges against four people. RCMP on Wednesday announced charges of one count each of break and enter to commit mischief for a 46-year-old Edmonton man, a 24-year-old woman from Pincher Creek and a 28-year-old woman and 16-year-old […] Read more