Beef cattle feeding in Ontario. (DebraLee Wiseberg/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario plugs holes in wildlife compensation plan

Ontario’s agriculture ministry has patched a glitch in its wildlife damage compensation program, in which farmers’ claims risked rejection over the validity of their farm business registrations. “We heard livestock farmers’ concerns with the program so we’re making the first changes effective immediately,” Agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman said in a release Monday. “We’re also continuing […] Read more

John Barlow in July 2015. (JohnBarlowMP.ca)

Tories’ junior ag critic promoted in shuffle

The federal Conservatives’ associate critic for agriculture and agri-food has been shuffled into a new post in the opposition’s shadow cabinet. John Barlow, MP for the southwestern Alberta riding of Foothills, was appointed Friday as lead shadow minister for employment, workforce development and labour by party leader Andrew Scheer. In a post on Facebook, Scheer […] Read more


A drone hovers over crops near Laval, Que. in 2015. (Onfokus/iStock/Getty Images)

Drone data firm invests in precision ag analytics

Southwestern Ontario crop input retailer and grain handler South West Ag Partners has made a deal to sell its precision agriculture analytics business to an expansion-minded drone data provider. Toronto-based Deveron UAS announced Aug. 28 it will trade a 9.9 per cent share of its business plus $320,000 cash for South West Ag’s Veritas Farm […] Read more

The Port of Churchill in 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

AGT sees ‘further port access’ in Hudson Bay deal

The grain industry player in a deal to restore and restart the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill has factored the port’s access to Arctic tidewater into its business plan. Regina-based pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients is one of the members of the Arctic Gateway Group, which on Friday confirmed a deal to […] Read more


Goods portside at Churchill in September 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Hudson Bay rail line repairs to start ‘immediately’

Off-and-on talks toward a new ownership group for the Hudson Bay Railway have produced a deal, which it’s hoped will lead to the line’s repair before this winter, federal officials announced Friday. Federal Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr and Northern Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership has bought the Hudson […] Read more

Agrident’s AWR100 handheld RFID tag reader. (Agrident.com)

Allflex buys RFID reader maker Agrident

One of the world’s biggest livestock identification firms has expanded its share of the radio frequency ID (RFID) tag reader market with a deal to buy German manufacturer Agrident. Allflex, whose parent firm the Allflex Group rebranded in February under the name Antelliq, announced Aug. 21 it has bought Agrident for an undisclosed sum. Agrident, […] Read more


(Video screengrab from TalentsLaCoop.coop)

Coop federee buys into Ontario feed sector

Fresh off its recent investment in the Prairie livestock feed business, Quebec ag co-operative giant La Coop federee is headed down a similar path in southwestern Ontario. The co-operative announced Monday it will pay an undisclosed sum for a 50 per cent stake in W-S Feed and Supply, based at Tavistock, Ont., about 30 km […] Read more

The broad-acre model of Outback Guidance’s Rebel autosteer system offers precision up to a six- to eight-inch cross-track error margin. (OutbackRebel.com)

Former sister firm to buy Outback Guidance

Farm GPS guidance and autosteering equipment company AgJunction is set to sell its Outback Guidance business to a satellite positioning tech firm it spun off five years earlier. Kansas-based AgJunction announced Monday it has sold the Outback assets to Hemisphere GNSS, a Scottsdale, Ariz. company owned by Chinese firm Beijing UniStrong, for an undisclosed sum. […] Read more


Dave Marit. (Saskatchewan.ca)

Saskatchewan highways minister moves to ag file

Saskatchewan’s highways and infrastructure minister is going off-road in his next cabinet assignment as minister of agriculture. David Marit, the MLA for the southwestern riding of Wood River since 2016, was named Wednesday by Premier Scott Moe to pick up the ag portfolio from Lyle Stewart. Stewart, the MLA for the south-central riding of Lumsden-Morse, […] Read more

Ben Fox. (File photo/Supplied)

Manitoba Beef Producers president steps down

The race to become the federal Conservatives’ candidate in Dauphin has claimed a second Manitoba farm leader. Dauphin-area rancher Ben Fox, president of Manitoba Beef Producers and the District 13 representative on the group’s board, announced Tuesday he had resigned as MBP president to seek a “federal party nomination.” MBP didn’t say which nomination Fox […] Read more