Winnipeg-based grain and forage harvesting equipment manufacturer MacDon has entered an agreement to be sold to Linamar Corporation for C$1.2 billion. Linamar is based in Guelph, and employs 25,000 people around the world — mostly in automotive parts and industrial manufacturing. The company also owns a harvest equipment business in Hungary, which will be combined... Read More
Category: News
Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau shared new details on his government's proposed tax policy changes for income splitting or sprinkling on Wednesday, the last day before MPs head home for Christmas. The revised changes include "bright line" tests designed to determine whether a business owner's family members make meaningful contributions to the business, and are... Read More
Farmers and grain shippers won't be getting long-awaited changes to grain transportation rules for Christmas this year. Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, cleared the House of Commons at the end of October, but has only reached second reading in the Senate. Transport Minister Marc Garneau, who has been urging the Senate to approve the... Read More
The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) today launched its Certified Sustainable Beef Framework (and a new website) at the group's annual meeting in Edmonton today. The Framework centres around the five Global Principles of Sustainable Beef: natural resources; people and community; animal health and welfare; food; and efficiency and innovation. “We know that consumers... Read More
Both Canada and the United States released their export numbers for the month of October this week and there are some interesting takeaways. Fresh off last week's third quarter GDP numbers that were dragged down by weak exports, the Statistics Canada trade data pushlished on Tuesday showed rebounding exports. Canada's trade deficit shrank to a... Read More
Statistics Canada published higher-than-expected estimates for several major Canadian crops in its crop production report on Wednesday. The report includes the final production estimates for 2017 (although they can still be revised for two years.) For canola, StatsCan estimates production of 21.3 million tonnes, up from 19.7 million in the September StatsCan report and 19.6... Read More
The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is taking a different approach than most other farm organizations with its management. Rather than hiring internal staff, the voluntary farmer-run advocacy group has contracted Osborne Interim Management to look after day-to-day operations, policy development, stakeholder engagement and communications. The Osborne team includes Dave Quist as Executive Director, Norm... Read More
China agreed to expand access for Canadian beef and pork during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Beijing this week. After agreeing in-principle to allow imports of Canadian frozen bone-in beef last year, China committed to establishing the documentation requirements and fully implementing the 2016 bone-in beef agreement. A pilot project has also been established... Read More
Farm groups were quick to show their support as Saskatchewan Environment Minister Dustin Duncan unveiled his government's "Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy" on Monday. The province says the plan is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change, without implementing a carbon tax. (Download the strategy text by clicking here.) “This plan is... Read More
Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) is welcoming the Ontario government's proposal to increase its ethanol mandate in gasoline from 5 to 10 percent in 2020. The province's environment ministry published draft amendments last week to update the renewable fuel regulations under the province's Environmental Protection Act. “We are pleased to see the Ontario government committed... Read More