Food is growing in importance, but rural Canada is losing its influence. How can that be? Former Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Joe Clark has a few ideas. They came to the fore last month for 700-plus participants at the Grain Farmers of Ontario popular March Classic, in London, ON. The organization made a good choice... Read More
Category: Ag Business
Two major players in the livestock health and nutrition business could soon be on the same team, as Alltech has entered an agreement to acquire Ridley Inc. for C$521 million. "This transformative transaction that combines two industry leaders allows Alltech to deliver better performance and value to livestock and poultry producers across the globe," said... Read More
Trimble has bought HarvestMark, a food traceability and quality inspection company. HarvestMark collects information on food movement and sales, with an eye to food safety tracking and supply chain management. The acquisition of HarvestMark "further enhances" Trimble’s position in agriculture and transportation and logistics within the food supply chain, the company says. The addition of... Read More
Less than three years after the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk, the CWB is on the verge of becoming a private grain company controlled by a joint venture between global grain business Bunge and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company — the Saudi Arabian government’s primary agricultural investment arm. The new... Read More
If you saw the 2011 movie Contagion, you know how bird flu can be vilified. Movie goers left the theatre scared senseless that any traveller they encountered could be a ticking time bomb, as a result of a virus that appeared to spread from the close association between poultry and humans on some Asian farms.... Read More
Only 53% of women have the confidence to invest money, while 82% of their male counterparts are confident investing money, Gwen Paddock, national manager, agriculture and agribusiness, client and business strategy at RBC Royal Bank, told delegates at this year's Advancing Women Conference in Calgary. Yet, Paddock explained, women tend to be better investors than... Read More
Family business is a challenge for any family. Whether you are the Jones down the lane, the Millers around the bend or the McMahons of WWE fame, family business has advantages and disadvantages. Keeping the drama low in a family business environment can mean success or failure for the business long term. Since it is... Read More
Sofina Foods Inc. has announced plans to turn the former Great Lakes Specialty Meats hog processing plant in Mitchell, Ontario into a turkey processing operation. The Markham-based company acquired the property in September 2014 after Great Lakes entered receivership. According to court documents, a net $4.77 million was paid for the site, which includes a... Read More
H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. have announced they will merge to become The Kraft Heinz Company, the third largest food and beverage company in North America. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil-based 3G Capital (the owner of Heinz) will invest an additional $10 billion in The Kraft Heinz Company. Under the terms... Read More
More chatter about new crop acres continues to help the grain market trade sideways as we move towards the second half of March. Domestic corn-for-ethanol and soybean crush demand remains fairly strong, as does canola crush here in Canada which is up 20 per cent year-over-year last week, but the strength of the U.S. dollar... Read More