(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan farmers to launch ag retail chain

A Saskatchewan family farm and seed retailing operation is set to become the home base for a new chain of crop input and seed retail stores. Brad Hanmer, who farms and operates Hanmer Seeds at Govan, Sask., about 100 km north of Regina, on Wednesday announced the launch of SynergyAG, which plans to open four […] Read more

DuPont’s headquarters in Delaware. (DuPont.com)

EU regulators halt Dow, DuPont merger review to gather data

Brussels | Reuters — European Union antitrust regulators have halted their scrutiny of Dow Chemical and DuPont’s proposed merger while the companies provide more information regarding their US$130 billion deal. The European Commission opened a full investigation into the case in August, concerned that the deal to create the world’s largest integrated crop protection and […] Read more


Pacific Ocean surface temperature anomalies, in degrees Celsius, for the seven-day period centred on Aug. 31, 2016. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

U.S. agency reduces outlook for La Nina in 2016-17

New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster reduced its outlook on Thursday for La Nina conditions to develop during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter of 2016-17, saying neutral conditions were more likely. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the National Weather Service, said in a monthly forecast there was […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Farmers’ debt seen hitting fresh record high

Reuters — Canadian farmers’ debt will likely reach another record high this year, while land appreciation slows and incomes flatten, but the industry is still in strong financial shape, the country’s biggest agriculture lender, Farm Credit Canada, forecast on Tuesday. FCC, the federal Crown ag lending agency, sounded a note of caution for farmers, who […] Read more



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

ChemChina extends tender offers for Syngenta

Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina on Tuesday extended by almost two months the deadline for Syngenta investors to tender their shares as the Chinese company seeks to complete a US$43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group. Investors in Basel-based Syngenta now have until Nov. 8 to tender their shares unless this is […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Agrium)

Fertilizer merger faces easier approval at home than in U.S.

Toronto/Washington | Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp and Agrium are more likely to win approval for a potential merger in Canada than in the U.S., but U.S. rejection of the deal would scuttle it globally, competition lawyers said. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium confirmed Tuesday they were in preliminary merger talks, toward a deal that would […] Read more

When beef supplies are growing, the futures market anticipates that increased supply and deferred futures trade at discounts to nearby months.

Understanding cattle markets

Whenever I provide a market outlook for a producer group or convention related to beef production, I always start off by asking how many producers subscribe to market information. Inevitably, maybe three or four hands go up. The market outlook is always the last topic of discussion at the convention and needless to say, given […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium merger would send farmers to regulators

Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — North American farmers will pressure regulators to protect their negotiating leverage with fertilizer suppliers if PotashCorp and Agrium agree to merge, major farm groups said on Wednesday. The potential deal revealed on Tuesday would combine the world’s largest fertilizer producer by capacity, with the continent’s biggest network of farm retail dealers, […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Agrium, PotashCorp in merger talks

Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and PotashCorp confirmed Tuesday they’re in “preliminary discussions” toward a possible merger-of-equals. Calgary-based Agrium and Saskatoon-based PotashCorp emphasized in separate statements Tuesday that no decision has yet been made on whether to go ahead with such a merger and no agreement has yet been reached. “There can be no assurance that […] Read more