(Combyne Ag video screengrab via YouTube)

Bayer’s crop marketing, crop production platforms in sync

FieldView, Combyne platforms now integrated

Combyne, the made-in-Canada grain marketing platform Bayer bought earlier this year, is now fully on speaking terms with the company’s Climate FieldView precision ag platform. Bayer on Oct. 30 announced integration of the two platforms, which it said will allow grain farmers in Canada and the U.S. to connect their marketing data in Combyne and […] Read more


File photo of laker vessels navigating the Welland Canal. (JonathanNicholls/iStock/Getty Images)

Seaway workers ratify labour deal

Deal ended one-week strike on waterway

Unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway in Ontario and Quebec have voted their approval of the agreement that brought them in off the picket line. Unifor, which represents about 360 Seaway workers across five locals in the two provinces, announced Thursday its members had voted to ratify a three-year agreement retroactive to April 1. […] Read more

A CNH manufacturing plant at Sorocaba, west of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil. (Photo courtesy CNH Industrial)

CNH to move to NYSE single listing Jan. 2

Company also plans new US$1B share buyback

Milan | Reuters — Farm and construction equipment maker CNH Industrial said Tuesday its plan to abandon the Milan stock market and retain a single listing for its shares on the New York Stock Exchange would be effective from Jan. 2 next year. The Italian-American group, whose shares are currently traded both on the NYSE […] Read more


(Fentino/E+/Getty Images)

Canada to boost carbon tax rebate for rural areas

Will also pause carbon tax on home heating oil for three years

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday announced a three-year carbon tax exemption for home heating oil and higher carbon tax rebates for people in rural areas, measures he said were intended to bring relief amid soaring costs of living. Trudeau’s Liberal government has implemented a price on carbon to combat […] Read more

The Agriculture Enlightened conference, held Oct. 26 in Winnipeg and hosted by EMILI, is trying to help Canada become a leader in digital and precision agriculture. (John Deere photo)

Robots may help grain farmers diversify

Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops

Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who […] Read more


Brenna Mahoney, general manager of Keystone Agriculture Producers, speaks during a panel discussion at the Agriculture Enlightened conference in Winnipeg on Oct. 26. (Geralyn Wichers photo)

Think outside the agriculture box for labour, ag and tech leaders say

Agriculture in the Classroom is reaching non-farming students with inspiration for ag jobs, panelists say

Ag and tech leaders encouraged employers to think outside the agricultural box when looking to hire workers in order to expand the labour pool.  “I’m one of the lucky ones,” said Brenna Mahoney, general manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP).  Mahoney entered the industry with no agriculture experience. She had training in human resources and […] Read more

A DryAir central heating system feeds aeration fans for a row of grain bins. (Assie.ca)

Investment firm buys Saskatchewan drying system maker

EIC buys DryAir for $60 million

A Winnipeg investment firm with ownership stakes in Canadian manufacturing and airlines has bought a Saskatchewan company that makes heating and drying systems for grain growers and other sectors. Exchange Income Corp. (EIC) announced Oct. 5 it has bought DryAir Manufacturing of St. Brieux for about $60 million in cash and EIC stock. DryAir, in […] Read more


Rob Painter (l) and Eric Hansotia, CEOs of Trimble and Agco respectively, agreed on Sept. 28, 2023 to combine their precision ag arms into a new joint venture. (Trimble via PRNewswire)

Trimble Ag, Agco’s JCA link up for new precision ag venture

Agco gets majority control of a new precision ag and autonomy firm; Agco's GSI brand and others now under separate review

Global positioning tech firm Trimble is set to sell its precision ag business into a new joint-venture company that will include farm machinery maker Agco’s made-in-Manitoba autonomy arm. From farmers’ perspective, the two companies say their combined technology offering is expected to offer “seamless integration and connectivity across geographies, equipment brands and the crop life […] Read more

Brent November 2023 crude oil with 20-day moving average (black line) and West Texas intermediate November 2023 crude oil (blue line). (Barchart)

Will oil hit US$100? It already did in some markets

Saudi Arabia, Russia 'in solid control'

London | Reuters –– With oil investors and traders focused on an oil-price rally that has come close to US$100 a barrel, some grades of crude oil are already trading above that milestone, highlighting an expectation of tight supply. The outright price of Nigerian crude Qua Iboe surpassed $100 a barrel on Monday, according to […] Read more