An Ontario cattleman’s lawsuit against the federal government over losses due to BSE is now certified as a class action, with its “class” expanded to include all Canadian cattle producers outside Quebec. Justice Joan Lax of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that the suit — with Niagara Falls beef cattleman and dairy […] Read more
Ruling consolidates BSE class action suits
Commodity firm buys into Canterra Seeds
A new Canadian arm of a Minneapolis commodity firm has signed a deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in Canterra Seeds. Riverland Agriculture, Ltd. of Calgary will pay $3.125 million for 1.3 million Canterra voting shares and take two seats on the Winnipeg seed company’s board of directors, Canterra announced Wednesday. Formed only […] Read more
Quebec to rework ag lender’s governance
Quebec’s government has moved to put a little more arm’s-length between its farmers and its ag finance agency’s board. Acting on the Pronovost report on the future of the province’s farm and agri-food sector, Agriculture Minister Laurent Lessard on Wednesday tabled legislation to modernize the governance structure of La Financière agricole du Québec (FAQ). The […] Read more
Rules tightened on ammonium nitrate sales
Anyone selling ammonium nitrate fertilizer in Canada will need to be registered and its resale will be prohibited under new federal regulations starting June 1. The new regulations announced Wednesday will require that anyone who sells ammonium nitrate — in its solid form at a concentration of 28 to 34 per cent nitrogen — or […] Read more
Texas turns away Mexico-bound Canadian cattle
The Texas Department of Agriculture says it will turn back certain types of Canadian breeding cattle that show up at the state’s ports along the Mexican border, pending the outcome of talks between U.S. and Mexican officials. In a press release Friday, Texas ag commissioner Todd Staples said the Mexican government is offering a new […] Read more
Advances, sow cull on tap for livestock sector
New rules for the federal advance payments program (APP) that could spot livestock producers up to $400,000 each are on the table for Canada’s livestock producers, pending approval by the House of Commons. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Monday that legislative amendments for the program have just been tabled, at the same time as […] Read more
Agrium extends UAP offer, again
Fertilizer maker and input retailer Agrium has again extended its offer to buy UAP, a major North American input retailer, while it waits for green lights from antitrust regulators in both Canada and the U.S. Calgary-based Agrium announced Friday that its US$39-per-share tender offer, which had previously been extended by nine days to midnight ET […] Read more
Management changes hands at Buhler
The new owners at farm equipment maker Buhler Industries have voted in new executives to run the Manitoba company. John Buhler, the company’s founder, CEO and board chairman, has resigned from those posts, as has Ossama AbouZeid, the president, secretary treasurer and chief financial officer, one week after Russian manufacturer Combine Factory Rostselmash closed its […] Read more
Grain handler hires ex-CWB CEO Measner
Shipping and grain handling firm Upper Lakes Group of Toronto has hired ousted Canadian Wheat Board CEO Adrian Measner to head its grains group of companies. Citing Measner’s public statements in favour of the CWB’s sales monopoly on Prairie wheat and barley, then-federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl fired him from his CWB post in December […] Read more
U.S. to take older Canadian cattle, beef starting Nov. 19
The United States will allow imports of older live Canadian cattle and their beef effective Nov. 19, U.S. agriculture officials announced this morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it will expand its list of allowable imports from countries recognized as posing “minimal risk” for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) — […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
