Reuters — The union that represents workers along the St. Lawrence Seaway has agreed to take a contract dispute to arbitration, avoiding a strike that would have shut the waterway linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The union, Unifor, announced the news in a statement on Sunday evening. It had previously set a […] Read more
Strike averted on St. Lawrence Seaway
Agco posts lower profit on falling crop prices
Reuters — Agco Corp. posted a lower quarterly profit Tuesday as growers around the globe, faced with falling prices for farm commodities, purchased fewer tractors and harvesters. The company, which makes equipment sold under the Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra brand names, reported a third-quarter net profit of $65 million, down from $125.2 million […] Read more
Dreyfus’ Sask. canola plant offline indefinitely
Reuters — A canola-crushing plant owned by the Canadian unit of global grain trader Louis Dreyfus will be offline indefinitely after an explosion and fire on Friday, the company said. Firefighters are investigating the cause of the blast at the Yorkton, Sask. plant, and an assessment of the structural condition of a canola meal storage […] Read more
ICE Canada canola drops following cash market sales
ICE Canada canola futures eased in early trading on Wednesday, pressured by some recent farmer sales, traders said. * Losses in U.S. soybean futures added further pressure to the market. * A weaker Canadian dollar, which boosts export interest, kept declines in check. * Scouts on Cereal’s North America Canadian crop tour found some spring […] Read more
U.S. appeals court upholds federal meat labelling regulation
A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected a food industry challenge to a federal rule concerning labelling requirements for meat, marking a potential setback for other businesses fighting federal regulations on free-speech grounds. For the second time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the 2013 regulation could be enforced. […] Read more
Food industry lobbying spikes amid GMO fight-report
U.S. food companies spent almost as much lobbying Congress in the first quarter of 2014 as they did in the full year in 2013, a sign the industry may have intensified its fight against state labelling requirements for genetically engineered foods, according to a report released Tuesday. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), along with companies […] Read more
Grain groups urge USDA to restore inspections at Washington port
A coalition of U.S. grain groups has urged the Department of Agriculture to immediately restore official grain inspection services at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, which is involved in a long-running labor dispute. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the 22 national, regional and state organizations said disruptions at the port “put at […] Read more
U.S. farmers seen likely to plant less corn, more soy
Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday said U.S. farmers were likely to plant less corn in the upcoming season, switching land to soybeans and wheat instead. In its annual long-term baseline report, USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist estimated corn plantings for 2014-15 at 93.5 million acres, down from its […] Read more
U.S. PEDv cases jump; one more in SW Ont.
Reuters — Confirmed cases of a deadly pig virus spreading across the U.S. farm belt increased by 265 last week — the biggest weekly increase since it was discovered in the United States in April 2013, according to USDA’s National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), which causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe […] Read more
Japan ramps up U.S., June Canada wheat buys to offset delays
Tokyo | Reuters — Japan ramped up its purchases of U.S. grains and June-arrival Canadian wheat used for making bread and noodles, in a tender awarded on Thursday, in a move to offset the possibility of extended shipping delays from Canada. Canada’s record canola and wheat harvests have clogged its rail arteries and overwhelmed its […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
