An excavator works on Parliament Hill on Oct. 22, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Patrick Doyle)

Adjournments put off ag bills to September at earliest

Farm fuel, supply management, produce trust bills on hold

Federal private members’ bills with potential significant weight for Canada’s grain, livestock, dairy, poultry, egg, fruit and vegetable producers are now on hold until mid-September at least. Members of the House of Commons voted June 21 to adjourn until Sept. 18, while the Senate did likewise June 22, to return Sept. 19. While the two […] Read more

(RennMill.com)

Degelman buys grain bagging, milling equipment firm Renn

Alberta equipment maker's staff to continue with Degelman

Regina ag implement maker Degelman Industries has bought into the grain bagging and grain milling equipment business with a deal for Alberta manufacturer Renn Mill Center. Degelman, in a release Thursday, said it recently bought the Lacombe, Alta. company for an undisclosed sum and will keep Renn’s existing employees and management in place. In business […] Read more


Smoke from active wildfires in Alberta’s north and west hangs over Calgary on May 16, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Leah Hennel)

No respite expected for wildfire-hit Alberta

Forecasts call for fire conditions to worsen

Ottawa | Reuters — Abnormally hot and dry weather is set to return to Alberta on Thursday after a couple of cooler days helped calm wildfires that have forced thousands of evacuations in the province. Record-high temperatures and tinder-dry vegetation have led to an intense, early start to wildfire season in Western Canada this year. […] Read more

File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN’s mechanics, intermodal staff ratify labour deal

Agreement averted strike in March

Mechanics, intermodal and clerical workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) who were on the brink of striking in March have voted to ratify the agreements that kept them off the picket line. Unifor, which represents about 3,000 CN employees, said Friday its members voted to ratify four new two-year collective bargaining agreements taking them through […] Read more


File photo of picketing federal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at Gatineau, Que. on April 20, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Federal workers reach tentative deal

Over 120,000 PSAC members back on job Monday

Over 120,000 striking federal government employees are expected to return to work starting Monday morning (May 1) after reaching tentative agreements overnight. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced after midnight Monday it had reached tentative agreements for workers in four bargaining units who negotiate with the federal Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Among […] Read more

(Orchidpoet/iStock/Getty Images)

Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa

Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; farm groups say the opposite is true

Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called ‘extended interswitching.’ The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with (as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more


File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more

File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

France says pesticide ban will not hit grain exports

Fumigant can't be in 'direct contact' with grains

Paris | Reuters — France will ensure that a decision by health and safety agency ANSES to ban the use of a pesticide in direct contact with grains does not hamper its exports outside the European Union, its trade and agriculture ministers told Parliament on Tuesday. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine […] Read more


Parrish and Heimbecker says this view of its Kincardine, Ont. site, pre-construction, shows where a new truck receiving area will be set up. (ParrishAndHeimbecker.com)

P+H upgrading southwestern Ontario elevator

Improved unload times expected for wheat deliveries

Updated, April 6 — Agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker has started “major” upgrades on one of its southwestern Ontario grain elevators, with plans to dedicate the site to milling wheat. Winnipeg-based P+H said Tuesday the work already underway at its inland facility on Highway 21 just south of Kincardine will boost unloading speeds on grain […] Read more

(Leonid Eremeychuk/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Keep it Clean’ program aims for more than just good advice

Program seen as 'one stop shop' for ensuring marketability of grains

As farmers plan for the upcoming season, they need to do their part to make certain their grain will be ready for market, come harvest time. “Market access issues in general are becoming a bigger issue globally,” said Ian Epp, an agronomy specialist and lead on market access and pesticides with the Canola Council of […] Read more