Winnipeg | Reuters –– Buyers of Canadian wheat are increasingly complaining about quality ever since Ottawa changed how its biggest crop is sold and inspected, raising the risk the world’s third largest exporter will lose sales to rivals such as the U.S. EDITOR’S NOTE: Click HERE to read a Dec. 5 letter to the editor […] Read more

Canada’s wheat exports dogged by quality complaints

Cargill recalling beef sold at Walmarts in Canada
Reuters — Cargill, Canada’s biggest beef processor, is recalling ground beef sold by Wal-Mart Stores that may be contaminated with E. coli, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Tuesday. The agency said there have not been any reported illnesses associated with Cargill Meat Solutions’ “Your Fresh Market” brand beef, sold at Walmart in Alberta, […] Read more
Ontario’s curbs on neonics may protect bees but diminish crops
Winnipeg | Reuters –– Ontario’s move to protect bees by reducing use of a pesticide seed treatment may diminish corn and soybean production, seed companies said on Wednesday. Beekeepers welcomed the move by Ontario, the first North American government to curb use of seed treated with neonicotinoids, which are used to kill insects that harm […] Read more

Condo seller to tap China’s edible oil demand
Winnipeg | Reuters — A Canadian company better known for selling condominiums has walked into a $1 billion deal to ship edible oil to China as consumer demand there overtakes domestic supplies. Fengguan Edible Oil Ltd. Co., a Chinese producer of oil from rapeseed, contacted Toronto-based LeMine Investment Group this year about securing canola oil, […] Read more
Saputo profit jumps 17 pct on higher cheese, butter prices
Reuters – Canada’s largest dairy producer Saputo Inc reported a 17 per cent jump in quarterly earnings on Thursday, boosted by higher U.S. cheese and butter prices and recent acquisitions. The Montreal-based company, whose brands include Dairyland and 1/2 Moon cakes, said it intends to buy back 5 per cent of its common shares during […] Read more
Agrium to cut 500 jobs, sell some businesses
Reuters — Canadian fertilizer producer Agrium Inc will cut 500 jobs and look to sell several non-core businesses as it aims to find $475 million in savings by 2017, chief executive Chuck Magro said on Wednesday. Agrium will also target savings from reducing working capital at its farm retail business and trimming operating and administrative […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus plant may resume canola crushing in 3-7 weeks
Winnipeg / Reuters – Louis Dreyfus Corp’s Canadian canola plant may resume receiving and crushing the oilseed in three to seven weeks, following last week’s explosion and fire, the president of the company’s Canadian unit said on Friday. Brant Randles, president of Louis Dreyfus Commodities Canada Ltd, said the company is working with contractors and engineers on a […] Read more

Cargill to close Man. grain facility
Reuters – Cargill Ltd. said on Thursday that it will close its Swan River, Manitoba grain facility, which includes two elevators, as of May 31, 2015. The facility would require costly upgrades if it remained open, Jeff Wildeman, regional manager of Cargill AgHorizons said in a statement. Cargill’s crop inputs facility in Swan River will remain open. The decision comes as Cargill […] Read more

Smoother grain flow points to Ottawa lifting rail regulations
Winnipeg | Reuters — Barring a sudden pile-up of grain across Western Canada in the next five weeks, Ottawa will lift requirements that railways move minimum volumes of crops, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in an interview. While Ritz says he is not ruling out any options before the rules expire Nov. 29, government data […] Read more

Blast, fire hit Dreyfus’ Sask. canola plant
Reuters — An explosion and fire on Friday morning rocked Louis Dreyfus Commodities’ canola-crushing plant at Yorkton, Sask., but the fire was later extinguished, a city official said. The explosion occurred around 9:30 a.m. CT and firefighters put it out later in the morning, City of Yorkton spokesman Roy Lanaway said. Brant Randles, president of […] Read more