Maple Leaf Foods has announced it will buy the Puratone Corporation, the cash-strapped Manitoba hog production company, for approximately $42 million. The purchase includes Puratone's livestock, facilities and interests in some joint ventures. The transaction is expected to close within a month, subject to court and regulatory approvals, according to a news release. . "This... Read More
Category: Western Canada
The markets are volatile and could be described liked standing inside a hurricane at times. Only this time the hurricane was real. With Hurricane Sandy ripping through the east coast, the impacts on beef demand must be questioned. With the XL Foods hangover working its way out, feed yards and ranchers are trying to get... Read More
Earlier this year the CWB (as it was still named) rolled out handling agreement announcements at Canada's Farm Progress Show at Regina, Sask. During and after the press conference, more than a few weighed in on what percentage of the grain handle the monopoly-less board could possibly attract. Some estimated as much as 30% to... Read More
We may live in the information age, but it seems it's easier to spread misinformation than it is to share facts. Never does this seem so apparent than when we ask urbanites about where they think food comes from and what's in it. Farmers Feed Cities recently released findings from a survey it had done... Read More
CWB has extended the deadline for farmers to sign up to the Harvest Pool from today to Friday, November 9. "CWB recognizes that farmers need time to adjust to new options and procedures in the first year of the open market for Prairie grain," president and CEO Ian White said in a company release. "Many... Read More
For a portion of the west, winter has come early. The tail end of October brought a huge dump of snow to parts of Alberta that has, for the most part, stuck around. That begs the question, is this what we can expect for the rest of the winter? Compared to last "winter", this kind... Read More
In the last Pulse School episode, Dr. Bert Vandenberg, lentil and faba bean breeder at the University of Saskatchewan, outlined the market development challenges facing the faba bean industry. He noted, however, that the varieties farmers have to choose from are already a very good fit for much of the prairies. Duane Ransome, member relations... Read More
In what's possibly the largest single giveaway in agriculture history, Dow AgroSciences is just over week away from giving away a 2012 New Holland CR 9090. At www.keystothecombine.ca, farmers can enter to win by registering for their unique PIN number and participating in various contest activities to unlock a key. Farmers can then enter for... Read More
Recently, I asked if farmland prices had surpassed the point of profitability. The response was mixed — prices in some areas were listed as quite high, but often actual sales occurred at a lower, more manageable price. As balance, however, prices far beyond even the $15,000 an acre discussed have since been reported in areas... Read More
The macronutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur — get most of the attention when planning for crop nutrition needs, as they should, but more and more farmers are looking at a crop's need for micronutrients to reach maximum yield potential. Micros are needed in very small amounts but are critical for optimal plant health... Read More