Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna (l) and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault (r), speaks at the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa on Dec. 11, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

New greening programs planned for ag alongside carbon tax hike

Carbon price to hit $170 per tonne by 2030

A new federal climate plan which further cranks up taxes on carbon emissions also includes pledges of new programs to help sink more carbon into farmland. The government on Friday released the sequel to its 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change — a “strengthened” climate plan, titled A Healthy Environment and a […] Read more

FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Expansion underway on Brandon fertilizer terminal

More storage to be added at three-year-old facility

Federated Co-operatives (FCL) has started expansion work at its next-to-new fertilizer terminal in western Manitoba, to boost its capacity by almost a third. FCL announced Monday it has budgeted $5 million to add 9,000 tonnes of capacity at the Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon, bringing its maximum storage to 36,500 tonnes. Work began at the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. puts duties on phosphate from Morocco, Russia

Reuters — The U.S. Department of Commerce said Tuesday it would set preliminary duties on phosphate fertilizer imports from Russia and Morocco, after launching an investigation to determine if producers in these countries were receiving unfair subsidies. The department set preliminary duties of 23.46 per cent on imports from Morocco’s OCP Group and other producers […] Read more

(Innovafeed.com)

ADM, InnovaFeed to build world’s biggest insect protein plant in Illinois

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain trader and processor Archer Daniels Midland and French biotech company InnovaFeed announced plans on Thursday to build the world’s largest insect protein plant at Decatur, Illinois. The announcement comes amid rising global feed grain prices and tightening supplies, and as more companies work toward reducing the carbon footprint of […] Read more



Syngenta’s Interaction Centre at Stein, Switzerland. (Syngenta.com)

Syngenta buys biologics group Valagro

Zurich | Reuters — Syngenta, the Swiss agrichemicals giant owned by ChemChina, has acquired Italian biologicals group Valagro, a company with US$175 million in 2019 sales that uses natural solutions to fight pests and diseases and to improve crops. Syngenta said in a statement Tuesday the acquisition positioned its crop protection business as a key […] Read more

A view of Anchorage, Alaska from Cook Inlet. (RobsonAbbott/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump issues permit for Alaska-to-Alberta railway

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a presidential permit for a private-sector proposal to build a railway from northeastern Alberta’s oil sands to ports in Alaska, a project that still faces numerous hurdles. Trump said over the weekend on Twitter he would issue the permit, which he signed on Monday but […] Read more

The White Pass border crossing between Alaska and northwestern British Columbia, about 25 km north of Skagway, Alaska. The proposed A2A line would largely skirt B.C. en route from Alberta to Alaska. (Thierry64/iStock/Getty Images)

Trump-backed Canadian railway to Alaska faces high hurdles

Proponents say line could move grain, fertilizer as well as oil

Winnipeg/Washington | Reuters — A private-sector proposal endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump to build a railway from Canada’s oil sands to ports in Alaska would free landlocked crude but faces numerous steep challenges. Trump wrote on Twitter over the weekend that he would issue a permit for the Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A Rail) […] Read more


Henry Denotter tries to get three applications of nitrogen onto his corn crop.

Debate ongoing over Y-drop systems

Moisture often critical factor in effective late-season nutrient application

Does “spoon-feeding” nitrogen via Y-drop systems make for a better corn crop? Some say yes — if there’s enough moisture to carry nutrients into the soil. Some growers, however, have found success even in dry summer conditions, meaning the Y-drop versus side-dress debate continues. Why it matters: Not every grower finds Y-drop systems worthwhile, but […] Read more

As cover crops continue to catch on, more farmers are looking for technology to make it happen. The new drop tube kits from AGCO will be available on new machines this summer and as a retrofit for existing RoGators this fall.

Drop tubes allow dual urea and cover crop seed application

New granular/seed tubes for RoGator put the right products in the right places, between the rows, not on them

Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers can now apply 150 pounds per acre urea while simultaneously applying 20 pounds per acre cover crop seed through new drop tubes retrofitted to a RoGator AirMax Precision R1/R2. The new drop tube kit is designed for between-row application of in-season dry granular fertilizer and precisely seeding cover crops into standing […] Read more