(Staff photo)

PotashCorp, Agrium choose new married name

Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and PotashCorp have picked the new brand under which they plan to do business once their proposed merger clears. Calgary-based Agrium and Saskatoon-based PotashCorp announced Wednesday their new merged company, pending regulatory review and approvals, will be named Nutrien. “The new organization will be the global leader in reliable, low-cost crop[...]
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(Photo courtesy United Soybean Board)

Soybeans elbow their way to top of Prairie market

CNS Canada — As soybeans rise in acreage across Western Canada, many are wondering which crop will bear the brunt of their sudden expansion. “Guys are trying to figure out — is it squeezing out canola or peas?” said Dan Mazier, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers. “It’s one of those products.” Flax has also taken[...]
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Lansing Trade Group’s elevator at Delhi, Louisiana, about 220 km east of Shreveport. (LansingTradeGroup.com)

U.S. grain handler Lansing buys Interstate

Chicago | Reuters — Grain handler Lansing Trade Group LLC is buying Interstate Commodities, marking another step in consolidation that is rippling through the U.S. agriculture sector as persistently low prices keep pressure on profits. The combined companies could handle as much as seven per cent of the U.S. corn supply of over 15 billion[...]
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A Whole Foods Market store in San Francisco. (WholeFoodsMarket.com)

Whole Foods CEO hints at another brand under Amazon

Reuters — After Amazon.com completes its takeover of high-end grocer Whole Foods Market, it might launch another brand with different standards, the grocery chain’s chief executive said in remarks reported in a securities filing on Monday. Amazon plans to keep the natural grocer’s high standards, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said, adding, “They’re not stupid[...]
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(Dave Clark photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Corn sags on U.S. weather

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell more than two per cent on Monday on forecasts for mostly benign weather in the Midwest as the crop heads into its pollination phase next month, analysts said. Corn closed near its session lows and appeared to drag down soybeans as well. Chicago Board of Trade July[...]
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U.S. President Donald Trump announces a rollback on detente policies with Cuba on June 16 in Miami. (Video screengrab from WhiteHouse.gov)

U.S. farmers slam Trump’s Cuba clampdown

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm groups criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to retreat from his predecessor’s opening toward Cuba, saying it could derail huge increases in farm exports that totaled US$221 million last year. A trade delegation from Minnesota, one of the largest U.S. agriculture states, vowed to carry on with its planned visit[...]
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A line of Starpharma’s dendrimer polymers, much like its VivaGel water-based gel, shown here, will be put to work carrying crop chemicals and fertilizers in the field for Agrium’s Loveland Products. (Starpharma.com)

Agrium buys polymer maker’s ag chem applications

Fertilizer and ag retail firm Agrium has closed a deal for an Australian polymer maker’s ag chemical business, aiming to put it to work in fertilizer and pesticide application. Calgary-based Agrium said Tuesday it has bought Starpharma Holdings’ agrochemical business for A$35 million (C$35.3 million) via Agrium’s U.S. crop input arm, Loveland Products. The deal[...]
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