(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf reduces Q4 loss, hikes dividend

Reuters — Meat processor Maple Leaf Foods reported a smaller, but still disappointing, quarterly loss on Thursday, as it worked through a plan to close older packing plants. Even so, the company will double its quarterly dividend to eight cents. CEO Michael McCain said the move reflected confidence in the business outlook. Maple Leaf, one […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

ADM cuts biodiesel output as industry hit by weak margins

Winnipeg/New York | Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland , one of the world’s top biofuels producers, has slowed North American biodiesel output, the latest sign the industry is battling uncertainty over U.S. renewable fuel policy while the oil rout curbs demand. The Chicago-based agri business has “temporarily” shifted production at its Velva, N.D. oilseeds processing […] Read more



(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Supply management limits growth in Canada, Saputo says

Reuters — Canada’s tightly managed dairy sector limits domestic opportunities for Saputo, the country’s largest dairy, forcing it to focus on growth elsewhere, the company’s chief executive said Thursday. CEO Lino Saputo Jr. emphasized in an interview that the company is not lobbying Ottawa to either dismantle or preserve Canada’s supply management system for dairy, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Sask. eyes tougher rules on investor farm buys

Saskatoon | Reuters — Saskatchewan is likely to tighten what are already some of North America’s strictest rules for purchasing farmland, as it looks to fend off big money managers hungry for what they see as a winning investment. The province, whose fertile plains grow more wheat than Argentina, has become the latest front in […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

PotashCorp reviews stakes in fertilizer firms with eye on control

Reuters — Saskatchewan’s PotashCorp, the world’s largest fertilizer producer, is sizing up its chances of gaining control of four companies in which it holds minority stakes, CEO Jochen Tilk said on Wednesday. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp is reviewing its $4.5 billion worth of investments in China’s Sinofert Holdings, Israel Chemicals, Jordan’s Arab Potash and Chile’s SQM. “The […] Read more