A Govan, Saskatchewan-based company has announced plans to open a chain of independent crop input retail sites in Saskatchewan and Alberta, with operations beginning this fall. “SynergyAG is the natural progression of our family’s 60 years in seed and crop nutrition retail,” said Brad Hanmer, president and CEO of SynergyAG, in a news release issued… Read More
Category: Ag Business
Would a carbon fibre spray boom be strong enough to withstand the rigour of continuous field spraying? That’s a question John Deere intends to answer as it continues to look for ways to substitute the composite material for the steel and aluminum traditionally used in farm equipment, such as boom sprayers. At its annual product… Read More
The back and forth between Bayer and Monsanto continues, as the two crop input giants negotiate a possible takeover by Bayer. The German pharmaceutical and agriculture company has raised its offer price once again, to US$127.50 per share — up from $125 in early July and $122 in the initial proposal issued in May. In… Read More
Agrium’s Crop Production Services has reached a deal with the Competition Bureau to sell four retail outlets in Alberta to address concerns about reduced fertilizer competition resulting from its proposed purchase of Andrukow Group Solutions. CPS announced an agreement-in-principle back in April to purchase Andrukow Group and all of its assets, which includes 17 crop… Read More
AGCO has introduced what it calls an entirely new category of tractors with its new Challenger 1000 Series. Dubbed the largest fixed-frame tractors in the world, the Challenger 1000 is touted as a single solution for both heavy draft and row crop work. The new tractor series was unveiled at a media event at the… Read More
Farmers got a glimpse of the future on Day 1 of the Farm Progress Show. Case IH rolled out an autonomous concept tractor and John Deere talked about plans for a carbon fibre farming revolution that could see sprayer booms and more made of the material in the near future. Real Agriculture’s Kelvin Heppner and… Read More
For 32 years, Rob Hall worked in agricultural banking in Ontario – sometimes at the very top of the food chain, and always on the management side of the desk. Now, he’s switched sides. He’s on the farmer’s side. And he’s eager to talk in plain language. In February, Hall launched BankSpeak, a business finance… Read More
WGI Westman Group has acquired the manufacturing assets from a competitor in the grain bin business. The parent company of Meridian and Behlen has bought Norstar Manufacturing’s grain bin production assets, land and buildings in Morris, Manitoba, as well as Norstar’s bin and tank manufacturing assets in Aylmer, Ontario. WGI president and CEO Paul Cunningham says they approached Norstar… Read More
Syngenta’s stock price jumped more than 10 percent on Monday morning, after news the company’s acquisition by China National Chemical Corporation — aka ChemChina — cleared a major hurdle in the U.S. Both companies announced the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has granted its approval for the proposed US$43 billion takeover announced back… Read More
Ontario’s cap and trade program is expected to raise about $1.9 billion annually. The Liberal government says it will spend the proceeds on initiatives to cut greenhouse gas emissions – everything from investments in public transit and clean technology to making homes and businesses more energy efficient. Program details are still scant, but many rural… Read More
We often speak of best practices in agriculture as they relate to decisions made in the field or in the barn, but they go beyond that, to the office, to the meeting room, and even to interactions with the public. In his presentation at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference, Marty Seymour, director of industry and… Read More
We’ve all heard the horror stories of intergenerational transfer, but, says beef producer and lawyer Ryan Scorgie, it can actually work out, provided families are willing to navigate through some challenging waters. “One of the challenges we’ve seen in this industry is people don’t necessarily look at ranching as a specific business…but it is — it’s… Read More
Richardson International has announced its investing $120 million to upgrade and expand its canola processing plant at Lethbridge, Alberta. Currently, the company says the facility can process approximately 450,000 metric tonnes per year. The plan is to boost capacity to over 2,000 tonnes per day, and more than 700,000 tonnes per year. Some of the… Read More
As CEO of Venture Communications, author, and former venture capitalist on the CBC series Dragons’ Den, it’s no wonder Arlene Dickinson needs little introduction. Dickinson was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference on Wednesday, where she led delegates on a tour of her successes as well as her failures. “I think… Read More
August 1st, 2016 marked four years since the Western Canadian grain industry underwent a historical change: the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly. Each crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission publishes a report entitled “Grain Elevators in Canada.” The report is filled with information on the number of licensed grain handling facilities, who… Read More