BASF is planning to introduce a new higher-concentrated glufosinate ammonium herbicide to the North American market after announcing the acquisition of the proprietary rights for the technology from AgriMetis. Glufosinate ammonium is the active ingredient in Liberty herbicide, which is commonly used on Liberty-tolerant crops, including canola and soybeans. The proprietary Glu-L technology developed by… Read More
India has dropped its tariff on lentil exports once again, just weeks after letting a temporary reduction over the summer come to an end. The government published a notice on September 17, 2020 saying it’s “in the public interest” to reduce tariffs on lentil shipments from 30 per cent to 10 per cent (plus a… Read More
Electric semi trucks are likely a long way from being deployed on farms, especially for long-distance hauling in a cold Canadian winter, but others in the supply chain are starting to adopt electric power to move goods around. They’re not switching to electric trains (yet), but CN Rail has ordered 50 all-electric tandem axle Class… Read More
Canola, durum, and pulse crop supplies in Canada were significantly tighter than a year ago heading into the 2020 harvest, according to Statistics Canada’s quarterly stocks report published September 4th. Total stocks of canola as of July 31 were down by over one-third (-34.3 per cent) year over year to 2.7 million tonnes, says the… Read More
The Manitoba government is asking for input for possible legislation aimed at addressing several rural crime-related issues, including metal theft, landowner liability regarding trespassers, and risks to animal biosecurity. Justice Minister Cliff Cullen, speaking in Portage La Prairie, Man. on Monday, said the province is considering adopting legislation similar to other provinces that would make… Read More
New data on farm cash receipts for the second quarter of 2020 sheds some light on the early impact the pandemic has had on farm income across the country and across different commodities. Livestock receipts were down $629 million — nearly 10 per cent — from April through June of this year versus the same… Read More
Everywhere you turn in the past five months, people have been having conversations about how life is different during the pandemic, but dare I say, it hasn’t changed a whole lot, when it comes to many farmers’ schedules. For now. With some notable exceptions for those with school-aged children, hogs or cattle that can’t be… Read More
Online purchases of crop inputs are growing faster than expected, says the company with the world’s largest network of bricks-and-mortar crop input retail locations. Nutrien says total sales through its e-commerce platform surpassed $700 million in the first six months of 2020, exceeding the company’s target of $500 million for the entire year. “Our digital… Read More
The Manitoba Crop Alliance (MCA) has announced it will be administering federal cash advance payments for Manitoba farmers, assuming a service that had been offered by the provincial corn growers association. The new multi-commodity group was formed as of August 1, 2020 following the amalgamation of five Manitoba commodity groups, including the Manitoba Corn Growers… Read More
Investors continue to see potential in agtech, as Farmers Business Network (FBN) has secured US$250 million in funding from a group of new and existing investors. The Series F funding for FBN, announced on Monday, was led by funds managed by New York-based BlackRock Inc., with participation from new investors Baron Capital Group, Balyasny Asset… Read More
With the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement process in tatters, Canada is among a group of 23 WTO members that are trying to apply a band-aid solution for settling trade disputes amongst themselves. The group, which also includes Australia, China, the European Union, and Mexico, announced on Monday (August 3) that its temporary arrangement is… Read More
After setting a new grain shipping record in the 2019-20 crop year, CN Rail is raising the bar on the number of grain cars it’s committing to move on a weekly basis in the new crop year, which begins August 1, 2020. In CN’s federally-mandated grain shipping plan for 2020-2021 published this week, the railway… Read More
More than two months after the federal government announced $50 million in emergency funding for provinces that want to offer cattle set-aside programs, the Manitoba government has still not released any information on what the program will look like for beef producers in the province. The cattle set-aside initiatives aim to help cover the costs… Read More
The newly-formed Manitoba Crop Alliance has received its formal designation from the Manitoba government and announced its management team, clearing the path for the multi-commodity organization to begin operating and collecting levies beginning on August 1, 2020. The group, formed through the amalgamation of five provincial commodity associations, has received approval under The Agricultural Producers’… Read More
Protein Industries Canada has announced a $19.2 million project looking at faba bean (also called fava bean) and pea processing on the Canadian prairies. The main partners and private funders in the project announced on Friday are Roquette — the French company that’s building a $400 million pea processing plant at Portage, Man. — and… Read More