Category: Western Canada
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers announced Tuesday that it has acquired Kramer Auctions — one of Canada's longest-running and leading agricultural auction companies. Headquartered in North Battleford, Kramer has been operating in Western Canada for 67 years — three generations of the Kramer family, offering on-farm and on-site live auctions for equipment, livestock and agricultural real estate.... Read More
With the domino effect of agri-business mergers, farmers are wondering what a new version of the combined companies look like. With canola being a smaller crop globally, Bayer's acquisition of Monsanto will likely not get much attention from the U.S. Department of Justice, but it could be of interest to the Canadian Competition Bureau. Canadian... Read More
This is an editorial column written by Brian Innes, president of CAFTA (Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance): Threats to rip up NAFTA and trash the TPP send a chill down the spines of Canadians whose livelihoods depend on trade. And while the Trump administration’s action plan is not yet clear, it is crystal clear that Canada’s... Read More
The federal and Manitoba governments are committing $1.3 million to purchase equipment and conduct economic research looking at links between food, health, and potential savings in the public healthcare system. Manitoba Ag Minister Ralph Eichler and MP Dan Vandal on Thursday announced $1 million in federal/provincial funding to purchase a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imager... Read More
Sheep farmers in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec have formed a new partnership to continue to move the sheep industry in Canada forward. Ontario and Alberta were the most recent provincial organizations to withdraw support of the Canadian Sheep Federation. The National Sheep Network – comprising of the Alberta Lamb Producers, the Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency... Read More
Canada is moving towards a national food policy, so says the marching orders handed down to federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay in mandate letters set out last fall. Prime Minister Trudeau has tasked MacAulay to "develop a food policy that promotes healthy living and safe food by putting more healthy, high-quality food, produced by Canadian... Read More
Manitoba farmers are pushing the province's new government to make changes to its property tax system after taxes owed on farmland climbed dramatically this year. Depending on the municipality and school division, property taxes rose between $2 and $29 per acre year-over-year, explains Dan Mazier, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, in the interview below. There... Read More
Grains this week took a rollercoaster ride as volatility was the name of the game, between the U.S. election, the U.S.D.A.’s November W.A.S.D.E. report, and some better Harvest 2016 weather. Trading ranges maxed out this week as things see-sawed from Tuesday night through Friday morning. Soybeans ended up down 0.3% from last Friday, oats lost... Read More
With the election of Donald Trump this week, Canadians have reacted with comments falling into predictable camps. Like all people in society, Trudeau and Trump both have strengths and weaknesses and our view of their characteristics can follow party lines. Liberals brag that Canada has a "decent," compassionate leader that believes in climate change, equality,... Read More