Anti-tank ‘hedgehogs’ are seen in Maidan Nezalezhnosti Square in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on March 9, 2022. Farmers are among those assembling the obstacles, set up to block roads against advancing armoured vehicles. (Yevhen Kotenko/Ukrinform/Abacapress.com via Reuters)

Bread and war: Farmers in the fight for Ukraine

Agriculture, being the most important industry in Ukraine, will play a large part in the war, a Ukrainian ag journalist writes

It is very difficult to explain what a person feels when they’re awakened at 5 a.m., when a rocket explodes near their house. That’s exactly what I experienced Feb. 24. The first thing I did was fill my car with gasoline. Then we bought a lot of products we thought we might need — medicines […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU predicts pain for farmers, consumers from Ukraine crisis

Brussels | Reuters — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and EU sanctions on Moscow will prove painful for farmers, consumers, fertilizer makers and exporters of farm products, the European Commission warned on Monday. Michael Scannell, deputy director-general of the Commission’s agriculture division, said grain buyers should brace for higher prices given that Russia and Ukraine made […] Read more


An ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Russia. (Saoirse_2010/iStock/Getty Images)

Vilsack hopes fertilizer firms don’t take advantage of Ukraine crisis

Washington | Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Thursday he hoped fertilizer and agriculture supply companies affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine would not take unfair advantage of the situation, amid already-high fertilizer and crop prices. Fertilizer costs have soared due to rising demand and lower supply as record natural gas and […] Read more

Photo: iStock/Getty Images

With fertilizer costs high and seed scarce, U.S. farmers turn to soy

'These prices are just crazy'

Chicago | Reuters — North Dakota farmer Jennifer Meyer typically devotes at least 20 per cent of her 2,500-acre farm to corn, which provides a convenient feed for the cattle she raises with her husband. But this year she is looking to find another crop for those 500 acres near Wilton as she has been […] Read more


Nutrien’s potash mine at Lanigan, Sask., about 100 km southeast of Saskatoon. (Nutrien.com)

Nutrien takes cautious potash approach as rival copes with sanctions

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada’s Nutrien, the world’s biggest fertilizer company, is bumping up potash production as sanctions restrict its rival in Belarus, but is holding off on bigger expansion, its interim CEO said on Thursday. Potash prices have climbed to decade highs as state-owned Belaruskali, the second-largest producer after Nutrien, copes with U.S. and […] Read more

Paragon Ag Service’s site west of Melfort. (Lakecountryco-op.crs)

Two Saskatchewan co-ops to buy ag input retailer

Paragon Ag Service assets to be divvied up

A pair of Saskatchewan co-operatives are expanding their reach in the crop input retail sector in that province’s northeast, with a deal to buy an independent dealership chain. Lake Country Co-op and Prairie North Co-op announced Tuesday they have agreements in place to buy the assets of Melfort-based Paragon Ag Service from owners Sherman Boland […] Read more


File photo of cropland in Greece. (Urbazon/iStock/Getty Images)

Greek farmers stage tractor protest against soaring energy costs

Larissa | Reuters — Farmers in central Greece on Friday protested with hundreds of tractors against soaring energy costs, dismissing government support measures as inadequate and demanding more help to cope with rising prices. The farmers parked tractors on a national highway near the town of Larissa in central Greece, where they faced off with […] Read more

File photo of Canpotex potash cars. (Dave Bedard photo)

Nutrien eyes potash production boost amid turmoil in Russia, Belarus

Idled Saskatchewan mines could be restarted

Winnipeg | Reuters — Nutrien, the world’s biggest potash miner, could boost production by up to 29 per cent in coming years, depending on any sanctions facing rival producers in Russia and Belarus, the Canadian company’s interim CEO told Reuters. Prices of granular potash fertilizer are near 10-year highs in the United States and Brazil, […] Read more


Gavilon in October last year opened a new southern Montana grain elevator, shown here, at Huntley, just northeast of Billings. (Gavilon.com)

Viterra to buy Marubeni’s U.S. grain firm Gavilon

Grain handler looking to expand reach in Americas through acquisitions

Grain firm Viterra’s plans to buy an expanded global reach are about to move forward with a 10-figure deal for the bulk of U.S. ag commodity firm Gavilon’s grain business. Viterra, owned by commodities firm Glencore and two Canadian public-sector pension funds, announced Wednesday it will pay $1.125 billion to buy Omaha-based Gavilon from the […] Read more

Keefer Terminal (foreground) at the Port of Thunder Bay. (PortOfThunderBay.ca)

Thunder Bay shipping season wraps up

MarketsFarm — The last vessel of the shipping season will depart the Port of Thunder Bay on Friday. Grain handling volumes were down on the year, but increases in other categories helped limit the overall reduction in movement through the northern Lake Superior port. The 2021 navigation season will come to a close with the […] Read more