Ontario to scale back renewable energy purchases

Toronto | Reuters –– Ontario will scale back its purchase of renewable power in a move expected to result in savings of up to $3.8 billion from a 2013 forecast, the provincial government said on Tuesday. It’s not clear consumers will benefit directly, though the province’s Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault told a news conference a […] Read more

(Dow.com)

Agricultural merger mania fuels fears among small seed sellers

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Justice Department is looking into concerns that global consolidation among major seed and agricultural chemical companies may squeeze supplies of the building blocks for widely used genetically modified seeds, a farm group told Reuters. The department has asked the American Soybean Association for details about how small and independent […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Manitoba government overhauls MASC board

CORRECTED, Sept. 28: Manitoba’s Tory government has replaced nearly the entire board table at its Crown crop insurance and farm financing agency. Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler on Monday named Darlingford, Man. grain grower and accountant Jim Wilson and former federal agriculture minister Charlie Mayer as the new chair and vice-chair respectively for Manitoba Agricultural Services […] Read more



(Cia.gov)

Canada, China agree to tighten trade ties

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada and China said Thursday they would start exploratory talks on a free trade pact, but gave few details about a possible extradition treaty for Chinese fugitives which has triggered criticism in Canada. Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected last year, is trying to improve ties and increase trade with […] Read more

Forage advocates gather in Saskatchewan

Forage: News Roundup from the September 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Dave Kerr, a beef producer from Lashburn, is the new president of the Saskatchewan Forage Council, with past-president Kelly Williamson of Pambrun and Sarah Sommerfeld of Outlook as finance chair. The vice-president position was yet to be filled coming out of the annual general meeting following the field day with the Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development […] Read more


GM’s 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500. (Chevrolet.ca)

Sources say GM to use Oshawa plant to expand pickup output

Toronto | Reuters — General Motors will use its Oshawa, Ont. assembly plant to expand production of pickup trucks for the North American market if a tentative agreement with Canadian auto workers is ratified, sources familiar with Canadian labour negotiations said Wednesday. Oshawa’s manufacturing plant, which employs some 2,500 workers, will install component parts and […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Major Alberta cattle feeder set to shut feedlots

Reuters — One of Canada’s biggest cattle feeding operations, Western Feedlots, said Wednesday it will close feeding operations after marketing the cattle it currently owns, due to poor market conditions. Closure of Western’s feeding operations, likely early in 2017 once its current cattle are sold, will make it more difficult for ranchers to find markets […] Read more


(CropScience.Bayer.ca)

U.S. lawmakers skeptical of ag chemical, seed merger wave

Washington | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers expressed concern on Tuesday over a wave of mergers among companies that sell farmers their seeds, herbicides and insecticides, worrying that the deals could lead to higher prices and less innovation at a time of dropping farm incomes. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said the proposed mergers […] Read more