After reporting a record profit for 2015, Marty Seymour, chief executive officer (CEO) of Canadian Western Agribition, reported something else. As of May 1, 2016, he will be stepping down. Seymour’s LinkedIn profile describes him as someone “motivated to make a difference,” and many who have graced the cattle-filled halls of Agribition would agree that he has done so… Read More

There’s a new name for the canola disease that first showed up in Canada in a research plot in Manitoba in 2014. Caused by the fungus Verticillium longisporum, the disease was referred to by its common name in Europe: verticillium wilt. The problem is it doesn’t appear to cause wilting in canola. “The symptoms that we’re… Read More

Clean Seed Capital Group is celebrating the completion of its first production model CX-6 SMART Seeder in Steinbach, Manitoba. Company executives and dignitaries were on hand for a commercial launch ceremony on Tuesday at WS Steel Manufacturing, the company hired to build 100 units over the next three years. For distribution, Clean Seed signed a… Read More

The Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board has reached a deal to buy 40 percent of Glencore’s agricultural business, which includes Viterra, for US$2.5 billion. “We are pleased to be partnering with CPPIB as we embark on the next stage of the development of Glencore Agri,” said Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg in a statement early Wednesday… Read More

The incumbent Saskatchewan Party cruised to its third consecutive victory in the provincial election on Monday, receiving 63 percent of the popular vote and winning 51 out of 61 ridings. SaskParty leader and Premier Brad Wall was re-elected in Swift Current, receiving over 80 percent of the votes cast in his constituency. “We will not… Read More

Canadian farmers are still wondering whether they’ll get a chance to plant Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans this spring. They’ll likely get their answer in mid-April. In February, Monsanto Canada announced it had received import approval from China for the glyphosate and dicamba tolerant soybeans, giving the company the confidence to ensure Canadian farmers that… Read More

Leamington-based mushroom producer Highline Produce has been sold to Irish fruit and fresh produce company Fyffes for a reported C$145 million. Founded in 1961, Highline is the largest mushroom business in Canada and largest organic mushroom producer in the world, marketing around 58 million pounds of mushrooms annually from four production facilities in Leamington, Kingsville… Read More

Grain traders are questioning whether the USDA played an early April Fool’s Day joke with its corn acreage projection in the department’s March 31st acreage estimates. The Prospective Plantings Report included a projection of 93.6 million acres of corn in 2016, well beyond the trade’s average expectation of just under 90 million. The soybean acreage… Read More

Canterra Seeds and the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre have finalized their arrangement for the distribution of CDC-developed pea varieties in the U.S. After winning the rights in an open-bid competition last year, Canterra — with its U.S. affiliate Meridian Seeds — and the CDC have been determining which varieties to include in the… Read More

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was in Montreal on Wednesday to announce $27 million to extend the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program for another five years. The research program is aimed at helping farmers find ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, with funding now extended until 2021. The AGGP was first launched in 2010 as part… Read More