What are the risks for the 2022 crop? Weather, of course, is always a factor, but what about the markets? What if we can compared the risks of the market declining, to the possibility of input prices further rising? Margins could be a heck of a lot tighter next year, unless commodity prices make moves... Read More
Category: Ag Business
Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway's plan to acquire Kansas City Southern (KCS) is one major step closer to becoming a done deal. The companies signed a merger agreement on Wednesday after rival Canadian National (CN) Railway waived its right to a five-day period to negotiate new terms with the coveted Kansas City-based railroad. The US$27.2 billion... Read More
Olymel management has announced today (Sept 10) the start of a second slaughter shift at its newly renovated hog slaughtering, cutting, and boning plant at Ange-Gardien, Montérégie (formerly Agromex - F. Ménard). The addition and $3 million investment has created 150 new jobs so far, bringing the number of employees over the 700 mark, with... Read More
There's growing concern about a federal excise tax that will greatly impact Canada's craft distilleries. A campaign, called "Lift Canada's Spirits," is a coalition of small to large distilleries whose goal is to reduce the excise tax on the first small annual volume of spirits produced to be more in line with domestic, craft beer... Read More
Sollio Agriculture, along with partners from its retail networks and Pursell, a coating technology company based at Sylacauga, AL, have announced plans for a joint venture to build and operate a fertilizer coating plant at St. Thomas, Ont. The new, $20 million plant will be dedicated to the production of controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs). The companies... Read More
Olymel's management has announced resumption of operations at its hog slaughterhouse and cutting plant at Vallée-Jonction, in Beauce, Que. The result of the vote by members of the Olymel workers union at the location ratified the agreement in principle and return-to-work protocol reached on August 29. The vote puts an end to the strike that... Read More
Grower organizations representing the more than 44,000 grain, pulse, and oilseed farmers in Saskatchewan are urging the Western Grain Elevator Association and its members to work with farmers and eliminate administration fees and reduce penalties for the 2021-2022 growing season. Extreme drought, heat, and wind throughout the crop year have significantly reduced harvestable grain and... Read More
There's a lot happening in the machinery sector lately. Big-ticket equipment sales driven by higher-than-usual commodity prices, and confidence that those prices are going to stay where they are for a while, are certainly factors. But, there's also an issue in supply of units. In the second quarter of 2021, money that had been diverted... Read More
Flax growers in Western Canada and North Dakota who have historically sold straw to Schweitzer-Mauduit International (SWM) are now scrambling to find a market for their straw. The Georgia-based company, which has processing facilities at Winkler and Carman, Manitoba, is planning to cease its flax straw operations by the end of 2021. As a result,... Read More
Farm Management Canada (FMC) and Wittman Consulting have released a fully revised and updated Building an Effective Farm Management System Guidebook, by farm management expert Dick Wittman. Following international success of the previous version released in 2004, Wittman and FMC consulted with farm management experts around the world to update the guidebook to reflect current... Read More