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
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 100… 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 began… 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 substantially increased… 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 trends in… Read More
Intergenerational wealth transfer or succession planning can be a daunting task, but if started early and included as a regular part of financial check-ups, it doesn’t have to be. Trent Hamans, vice president of private banking and wealth planning with ATB Wealth, likens wealth transfer planning to creating a good meal. “Having successful intergenerational wealth… Read More
Cervus Equipment has announced it has entered into an arrangement agreement with Brandt Tractor, part of Brandt Industries. Brandt will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Cervus, excluding those held by Brandt, for $19.50 per share in cash, valuing Cervus at approximately $302 million on an equity value basis. The consideration… Read More
Farmers Edge announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire CommoditAg, an online marketplace for high-quality agriculture products. The acquisition will allow Farmers Edge to significantly expand its roster of services by empowering farmers to purchase a wide range of agricultural products from trusted suppliers, while also advancing the company’s connected digital ecosystem strategy,… Read More
There’s never a dull moment in the fertilizer market and it’s hard not to wonder what will be in store for producers for the 2022 crop year. Josh Linville, director of fertilizer at StoneX, recently joined Shaun Haney on RealAg Radio to discuss the fertilizer markets, including what’s happening with tariffs. During Linville’s last conversation… Read More
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has released its Ag Tractor and Combine reports for the U.S. and Canada for the month of July. In the U.S., total two-wheel drive tractor sales are up 13.5 per cent, year-to-date, while unit sales of four-wheel drive tractors are up 38.2 per cent. Self-propelled combine sales are up… Read More