J.P. Morgan’s estimate puts the market cap of a combined Bunge and Viterra at around US$25 billion.

Bunge, Viterra merger would create global ag trading giant

Companies have some overlap in Canadian crushing

Reuters — A merger of U.S. grains merchant Bunge Ltd. with rival Viterra would grow the combined entity’s businesses in the U.S., Brazil and Australia and may raise competition concerns in parts of Canada and Argentina, where key oilseed processing assets overlap, analysts said. Sources last week said Bunge and Viterra were in talks for […] Read more

File photo of vessels on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans on Nov. 5, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Shallow Mississippi River expected to persist as dry winter hits U.S. South

River levels at historic lows this fall

Reuters — Low water levels on the Mississippi River are likely to persist this winter as drier-than-normal weather is expected across the southern U.S. and Gulf Coast, U.S. government forecasters said on Thursday. Drought, which currently spans 59 per cent of the country, is expected to continue or worsen in the middle and lower Mississippi […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

CP to lock out engineers, conductors starting Sunday

'Cannot prolong the uncertainty,' CEO says

Canadian Pacific Railway has served its unionized engineers, conductors and train and yard service staff with notice of a lockout to start just after midnight ET on Sunday, unless the company and union agree on a new labour deal by then. Calgary-based CP and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), which represents about 3,000 CP […] Read more

File photo of Highway 363 near Moose Jaw, Sask. (Mysticenergy/iStock/Getty Images)

Spring road bans coming into effect across Prairies

MarketsFarm — Warming temperatures and melting snow across Western Canada may cause some disruptions to grain and livestock movement over the next few weeks as seasonal spring road restrictions come into effect across the Prairies. Annual spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads, in an effort to reduce the […] 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

Floodwaters cover the Trans Canada Highway near Abbotsford, B.C. in an aerial view taken Nov. 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy BC Hydro via Reuters)

Grain flow uncertain as floods halt B.C. rail, road traffic

MarketsFarm — It’s too early yet to determine the effect of massive floods in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland on grain movement, according to the company monitoring Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. Up to 200 millimetres of rain earlier this week have triggered mudslides and cut access to rail lines and highways east of Vancouver. […] Read more



Charred remnants of a rail bridge destroyed by a wildfire on June 30 are seen during a media tour by authorities in Lytton, B.C. on July 9, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Lytton bridge re-opened but grain movement ‘hit and miss’

B.C. wildfires continue to disrupt Prairie grain movement

Canadian National Railway’s fire-damaged bridge at Lytton, B.C. reopened for traffic Tuesday — but all train movement, including for grain, through British Columbia’s wildfire-ravaged southern Interior, is “hit and miss” and will remain so until the fire risk lessens. “Both (CN and Canadian Pacific Railway) are having troubles because there are so many fires in […] Read more


The Canadian Grain Commission building on Main Street in Winnipeg. (File photo)

Virtual town hall on federal Grain Act set for Friday

Time is running out on consultations, but the April 23 event gives farmers a chance to provide input

The deadline for submitting comments to the federal government’s review of the Canada Grain Act and Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is April 30, but farmers can also offer feedback at a ‘virtual’ town hall meeting this Friday. The Grain Act and its regulations provide the framework for Canada’s grain quality assurance system and it’s the […] Read more

(Video screengrab from Richardson.ca)

Richardson to upgrade western Manitoba elevator

High-throughput to replace wooden crib structure at Swan River

Prairie grain handler Richardson Pioneer plans to start work this spring on a new high-throughput elevator “effectively replacing” its Swan River Valley unit in northwestern Manitoba. The Winnipeg company’s current site, on Canadian National Railway (CN) track about six kilometres north of the town of Swan River, is anchored by a wooden crib workhouse and […] Read more