The federal government is extending the comment period for its proposal to potentially eliminate the deferred cash ticket option for grain sales. The department of finance, on Tuesday, announced the consultation period that was originally scheduled to end May 24th will remain open beyond seeding season, until July 24. When delivering a listed grain (such... Read More

Global commodity giant Glencore — the majority owner of Regina-based grain company Viterra — is looking to expand its agriculture business, and has approached Bunge about a possible takeover. In a statement on Tuesday, Glencore confirmed it has "made an informal approach to Bunge Limited regarding a possible consensual business combination." Glencore notes "discussions may... Read More

As the Trump administration formally starts the process of re-opening the North American Free Trade Agreement, agriculture industry groups continue to remind the governments involved about the benefits of the existing deal. It's a message that will be repeated often during the 90-day countdown to when renegotiations could begin, after U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer... Read More

A private member's bill that would have required a GM label to sell "any food that is genetically modified" was defeated in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Quebec NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault introduced the draft legislation (read the Bill C-291 here), with NDP agriculture critic Ruth Ellen Brosseau speaking in favour of it. As... Read More

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau introduced draft legislation on Tuesday that includes long-awaited changes to the rules governing grain transportation by rail. Bill C-49 will, among other things, give shippers the right to seek reciprocal financial penalties in service agreements with railways, define "adequate and suitable" rail service, and implement new data reporting requirements for... Read More

CropLife Canada has named Pierre Petelle as its new president and CEO. Petelle, who has served as vice-president of chemistry for the crop protection and plant technology trade association since 2012, replaces Ted Menzies, who stepped down in January. “The board of directors is unanimous in its enthusiasm for having Pierre lead CropLife Canada. Pierre... Read More

Italy's government says it is moving ahead with a plan to implement mandatory country of origin labeling requirements on pasta, potentially impacting the competitiveness of Canadian durum wheat in one of its largest markets. The Italian government notified the European Commission about its intentions this week, according to the country's agriculture minister, Maurizio Martina. (As... Read More

If you have a cow-calf operation in Ontario, your input is needed in an effort to create a baseline of common management practices for the province. The Ontario Cow-Calf Production Survey is being conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Beef Farmers... Read More