If you saw the 2011 movie Contagion, you know how bird flu can be vilified. Movie goers left the theatre scared senseless that any traveller they encountered could be a ticking time bomb, as a result of a virus that appeared to spread from the close association between poultry and humans on some Asian farms…. Read More

Only 53% of women have the confidence to invest money, while 82% of their male counterparts are confident investing money, Gwen Paddock, national manager, agriculture and agribusiness, client and business strategy at RBC Royal Bank, told delegates at this year’s Advancing Women Conference in Calgary. Yet, Paddock explained, women tend to be better investors than men…. Read More

Sofina Foods Inc. has announced plans to turn the former Great Lakes Specialty Meats hog processing plant in Mitchell, Ontario into a turkey processing operation. The Markham-based company acquired the property in September 2014 after Great Lakes entered receivership. According to court documents, a net $4.77 million was paid for the site, which includes a… Read More

H.J. Heinz Company and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. have announced they will merge to become The Kraft Heinz Company, the third largest food and beverage company in North America. Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazil-based 3G Capital (the owner of Heinz) will invest an additional $10 billion in The Kraft Heinz Company. Under the terms… Read More

More chatter about new crop acres continues to help the grain market trade sideways as we move towards the second half of March. Domestic corn-for-ethanol and soybean crush demand remains fairly strong, as does canola crush here in Canada which is up 20 per cent year-over-year last week, but the strength of the U.S. dollar… Read More

In the Canadian context, when someone says wheat, we think bread or pasta and maybe crackers and cookies. But for huge portions of the world’s population, wheat means noodles, steam buns and dumplings. While all these products do come from the same crop, it’s possible that each product requires a specific class of wheat, with… Read More

The board of directors for one of Canada’s largest processors of special crops and pulses is considering its strategic options, including merging with another entity or selling the company. In an announcement made Monday, Legumex Walker Inc.’s board and management say they believe the share price for the company “has not been reflective of the fundamental value inherent… Read More

The word ‘brand’ is no longer limited to the mark that differentiates livestock. It’s used in business as well, identifying company goals, visions and business characteristics. “We all have a brand,” Faith Matchett,vice president of eastern Ontario and Atlantic operations for Farm Credit Canada, told Lyndsey Smith in an interview. “The question is, do we intentionally have… Read More

A full-court press, led by Canadian mushroom growers, is on to try to stop hundreds of foreign workers specially trained for agriculture jobs in Canada from having to leave. On April 1, a federally mandated rule kicks in that requires them go home if they’ve been here four years. And it’s going to affect the… Read More

Dan Mazier, a grains and oilseeds farmer from near Justice, Man., was acclaimed as president of Keystone Agricultural Producers at the organization’s annual meeting held this week. Mazier replaces Doug Chorney, who has reached his four-year term limit. Mazier served as KAP vice-president for the last four years, and is also chair of the workplace… Read More

Farmers looking to pick up the Bluetooth-controlled CX-6 SMART Seeder can now talk to Rocky Mountain Equipment dealerships. Clean Seed Capital Group Ltd., the company that developed the SMART Seeder, has announced a three-year distribution partnership with RME, one of Canada’s largest agriculture and construction equipment dealership networks with branches located throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, and… Read More

A spokesperson for Canada’s baking industry suggests grain farmers will face increased scrutiny unless further mitigation practices to prevent the presence of mycotoxins and allergens in grain are implemented. “There are issues about mycotoxins and adventious presence (of allergens) that producers need to become engaged on,” said Paul Hetherington, CEO of the Baking Association of Canada,… Read More

Wulf Cattle started in 1955 as a feeding operation and has evolved into a player in the seedstock business as well. Marketing more than 40, 000 head of value-added fed cattle annually, Wulf Cattle now owns feedyards in Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, making it one of North America’s largest integrated beef companies. “I think it’s human nature not to move… Read More

Farm machinery dealers are hoping to offset recent declines in equipment sales by expanding the services they provide to producers. After six consecutive years of strong growth, year-over-year sales of new equipment declined by as much as 25 percent for dealers in parts of Western Canada in 2014, according to John Schmeiser, CEO of the newly-formed Western Equipment Dealers… Read More

 

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