(Dave Bedard photo)

Loblaw reports better-than-expected profit

Reuters — Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos. Ltd. reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as expenses fell and discounting attracted more shoppers. Profit at Loblaw’s main retail unit was helped by lower selling, general and administrative costs, and an increase in same-store sales in the quarter ending Oct. 8, the company said. […] Read more

Photo: File

EPA approves Monsanto’s dicamba weed killer

U.S. seeds and agrochemicals maker Monsanto Co. has secured approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a new dicamba-based weed killer designed for its next generation biotech soy and cotton varieties, the company said on Wednesday. While approval had been expected, it is seen as a major step forward for the company’s newest herbicide […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Nutrien)

Agrium posts quarterly loss

Reuters – Agrium, the Calgary-based fertilizer maker that’s in the midst of a merger with PotashCorp, reported a quarterly loss Nov. 3. The company reported a net loss from its operations of $52.2 million, or 39 cents a share in the third quarter, which ended Sept. 30. That’s compared to a net profit of $132.5 […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf profit jumps by over 70 per cent

Reuters — Meat processor Maple Leaf Foods on Wednesday reported a 70.4 per cent jump in quarterly profit as lower costs and higher prices boosted earnings at its prepared meats business. Maple Leaf said adjusted operating earnings in its meat products unit, the company’s primary source of income, more than doubled to $65.93 million in […] Read more


A preserved portion of the Berlin Wall in Berlin, Germany. (CIA.gov)

German cabinet approves draft law banning GM crops

Berlin | Reuters — The German cabinet has approved a draft law banning cultivation of crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), government sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Germany had announced in September 2015 that it will ban cultivation of crops with GMOs under new European Union rules allowing member states to opt out of their […] Read more

(Europa.eu)

EU, Canada to hold trade summit Sunday

Brussels | Reuters –– The European Union and Canada will hold a summit to sign their free trade deal on Sunday, European Council President Donald Tusk said on Friday, after Belgium had cleared the agreement with its regional governments. “Mission accomplished! Just agreed with PM @JustinTrudeau to hold EU Canada Summit this Sunday,” Tusk said […] Read more


(LaCooperationAgricole.coop)

InVivo pursues co-op alliances to vie with grain, chemical giants

Paris | Reuters — France’s InVivo wants to expand international partnerships with other co-operatives, including in joint buying of crop supplies and shipping fixtures, as it tries to compete with global grain trading and chemical firms, its CEO said on Wednesday. InVivo, a grouping of 220 agricultural co-operatives and one of the largest exporters of […] Read more

(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. agency seeks proof of criminal use of dicamba

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency executed search warrants in parts of southeastern Missouri earlier this month to look for signs of improper use of the herbicide dicamba, the agency said on Tuesday. The searches stemmed from complaints that dicamba, which has only been approved for application on fields before planting season […] Read more


Motherland Monument, Kiev. (CIA.gov)

Ukrlandfarming owner in talks to sell stake

Kiev | Reuters — Ukrainian businessman Oleh Bakhmatyuk, the major shareholder in agricultural group Ukrlandfarming, is in talks with Chinese and Middle East investors about possibly selling a stake in the company, Interfax news agency said on Monday. Ukrlandfarming’s main businesses are grain and sugar production, livestock farming, the distribution of agricultural products and the […] Read more

(Fonterra.com)

China busts gang selling expired dairy products

Shanghai/Wellington | Reuters — Chinese police have arrested 19 people for repackaging and selling expired dairy products originally from New Zealand giant Fonterra Co-Operative Group, a Shanghai regulator said on Monday, the latest food scare to hit the country. The bust, which initially took place in March, uncovered the gang who had cut 276 tons […] Read more