Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) will likely be without an executive director when negotiations on a new North American Free Trade Agreement begin later this summer, where the U.S. will push to gain increased access to the Canadian dairy market. DFC’s current executive director, Caroline Emond, has decided to step down effective July 4th. A… Read more »
Category: News
Syngenta considering seed business purchases as ChemChina completes acquisition
Now officially under ChemChina’s ownership, Syngenta says it’s aiming to expand its seed business, and is “considering targeted acquisitions with a focus on seeds.” ChemChina CEO and chair Ren Jianxin was elected chair of Syngenta’s board of directors at a general shareholder meeting in Basel, Switzerland on Monday, where he said Syngenta will maintain operational… Read more »
ADM entering fertilizer market in Canada
ADM is a major player in the U.S. fertilizer market, but it has had very little presence in the crop input business in Canada. That could be changing, however, as the company plans to open a fertilizer distribution facility at Lajord, Saskatchewan by spring of 2018. “This is our first opportunity to put some bricks… Read more »
Richardson acquires European Oat Millers
Richardson International is expanding its oat milling business and its presence in Europe. The Winnipeg-based company says it has acquired European Oat Millers, as of June 15, 2017. Headquartered in Bedford, England, European Oat Millers is the second largest oat miller in Europe, according to Richardson, producing a wide range of oat products that are… Read more »
CGC has recommended reduced user fees for 2017-18 crop year (amended)
Editor’s note: The earlier version of this story said the federal government had approved a reduction in user fees for the 2017-18 crop year earlier this week, according to the commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. A senior CGC communications staff member has since informed us the commissioner “misspoke,” and that the commission is still… Read more »
FarmLead launches new basis negotiation feature
FarmLead, North America’s Grain Marketplace, announced today the launch of the FarmLead Basis Negotiation feature on its leading trade platform. The new feature allows buyers and sellers to post and negotiate basis contracts in addition to the existing options of cash contracts. The announcement complements the company’s continued expansion across North America. The new feature… Read more »
Merged Agrium, PotashCorp company to be named “Nutrien”
The company formed from the proposed merger of PotashCorp and Agrium will be known as Nutrien, the companies announced on Wednesday. Both sides say they expect the deal to close in the third quarter of 2017. The new Canadian fertilizer company would have close to 20,000 employees and operations in 18 countries. Its head office… Read more »
Three friends meet in Georgia for ice cream and NAFTA trilateral ag meeting
For all the tough talk from the White House with trade negotiations looming later this summer, the first in-person meeting between the top agriculture officials for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico appears to have been a very friendly and folksy affair. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue and Mexico’s Secretary of… Read more »
Manitoba Canola Growers announces new executive director
The Manitoba Canola Growers Association has announced Delaney Ross Burtnack will be joining the organization as executive director this summer. Ross Burtnack, who has served as the president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers for the last six years, will take over for Bill Ross at the end of July. “Delaney is an… Read more »
MPs examine truckwash policy as PEDv outbreak continues in Manitoba
The House of Commons agriculture committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak in southeast Manitoba. There have been at least 20 confirmed on-farm cases since May 2. To put that number in perspective, Manitoba previously only had 10 PEDv-positive barns dating back to 2014 when the… Read more »
Saskatchewan gov’t to offer leases to pasture patrons
The Saskatchewan government says it will offer current patrons of its pasture program the option of leasing the land in 15-year leases as the program is wound down over the next three years. The decision to end the Saskatchewan Pastures Program (SPP) was announced in the province’s budget back in March. The province says more… Read more »
Enlist corn to be released for 2018 planting
Nearly five years after it was approved in Canada, Dow AgroSciences says Enlist corn will be available in Canada and the U.S. for the 2018 growing season. The launch comes after China’s Ministry of Agriculture gave its long-awaited approval to imports of corn containing the Enlist trait this week. The Enlist system combines tolerance to… Read more »
Canadian Ag Hall of Fame announces inductees for 2017
The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame has announced an all-female slate of inductees for 2017. Robynne Anderson, Patty Jones and Jean Szkotnicki will be formally inducted at a ceremony in Calgary on November 30th, 2017. Out of more than 210 individuals inducted since the Hall was formed in 1960, only five are women, notes Herb… Read more »
Federal gov’t backs Ag in the Classroom with $568,000 one-year commitment
This article was updated June 13 with comments and an interview with Johanne Ross, executive director of Ag in the Classroom Canada. The federal government is contributing more than half a million dollars to Agriculture in the Classroom Canada to bring lessons about the agriculture and the career opportunities in the sector into schools. Agriculture… Read more »
Syngenta exiting canola seed business
Four and a half years after unveiling its first canola variety in Canada, Syngenta has decided to change its course and leave the canola seed business in Canada. The company confirmed the decision in a statement shared with Real Agriculture: “We regularly evaluate all aspects of our business. As part of these activities, we have recently taken the decision to… Read more »