Versatile’s Fury high-speed compact disc in transport mode. (Versatile-ag.com)

Versatile to move tillage equipment work to Winnipeg

Buhler to halt production at Vegreville next fall

The company that makes Versatile tractors and tillage equipment is set to consolidate those product lines at its plant in Winnipeg, pulling the work out of its plant in east-central Alberta. Farm equipment maker Buhler Industries announced Friday it will halt production at the former Ezee-On manufacturing plant at Vegreville, Alta. in September 2021 and […] Read more

MGEX March 2021 wheat with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Prairie cash wheat: Choppy U.S. futures lead to mixed bids

MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed during the week ended Thursday, as choppy activity in U.S. futures spilled into the cash market. The futures traded within a wide range during the week, with the Minneapolis March spring wheat contract hitting its highest level in three weeks at one point before falling […] Read more


(Glacier FarmMedia Network photo)

No BRM breakthrough reached at ministers’ meeting

AgMins fail to find solution to business risk management program woes

No consensus on changes to business risk managements (BRM) programming was reached during the latest round of federal-provincial-territorial agriculture ministers’ meetings. After the meetings ended Friday, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau explained Ottawa was willing to maintain the current cost sharing of the programs at a 60-40 split between her government and the provinces. Bibeau’s […] Read more

CBOT January 2021 soybeans with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soybeans firm as South American crops struggle

Corn, wheat futures also higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago soybean futures ended higher on Friday as continued dryness in South America threatened to stress the crop in Brazil and Argentina, while strong export demand strengthened corn and wheat. Chicago Board of Trade’s most-active soybean futures added 7-3/4 cents to $11.91-3/4 a bushel, ending the week up 10-3/4 cents for […] Read more


CME February 2021 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures trim as traders weigh weak exports

Lean hogs down with pork export figures

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures fell on Friday on profit-taking during a shortened holiday-trading day, while less-than-stellar weekly beef exports added pressure to livestock futures overall, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange February live cattle futures fell for the first time in the past five trading sessions, ending the day down 0.925 cent at […] Read more



Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China’s coronavirus testing chokes beef trade

Additional inspections, disinfections costly for importers

Beijing | Reuters — In a supermarket in downtown Beijing, refrigerator shelves normally filled with steak from around the world sit empty as tougher testing for the novel coronavirus creates supply bottlenecks and raises prices for importers. Fresh supplies of beef won’t arrive for days, a salesman at the Suning.com-owned Carrefour outlet told Reuters — […] Read more

File photo of a farmed mink. (Konstantin Sokolov/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada’s mink farms brace for COVID

Producers have had time to increase biosecurity efforts at the farm level

Canada’s 40 mink farms are operating under heightened biosecurity requirements after reports of COVID-19 jumping from humans to mink in Europe. Alan Herscovici, an industry spokesperson who operates the website Truthaboutfur.com, said early reports out of Denmark and other European countries gave Canadian producers some time to prepare. “These farms have always had a certain […] Read more


A Heinz ketchup packing line. (Kraft Heinz video screengrab)

Kraft Heinz backed for ketchup production in Montreal

Company to add ketchup line at Mont Royal site

A $23.3 million expansion of Kraft Heinz’s food manufacturing complex in Montreal will see the company resume making Heinz ketchup for Canada, in Canada. The U.S.-based food processing giant and the Quebec government on Nov. 17 announced the expansion plan for the company’s Mont Royal plant, which today makes products such as KD Mac + […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley bids firm as feeders seek coverage through spring

MarketsFarm — Feed barley bids held firm through November in Western Canada, with higher prices for deferred delivery as feedlots work to secure supplies in the face of solid export demand. Spot feed barley bids in the Lethbridge, Alta. area have held in the $270-$275 per tonne range through November, said Jim Beusekom of Market […] Read more