Despite large protests calling on the province to delay or drop the legislation, the Alberta government passed Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, on Thursday. The legislation passed third reading with 44-29 vote after government house leader Brian Mason invoked closure to limit debate. With mixed messages coming from government... Read More

After months of speculation and several attempts at consolidation in the agricultural chemical and crop input industry, two of the major players are reportedly in "advanced merger talks." Nothing has been announced or finalized, but both the Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting that Dow Chemical Co and DuPont are working on a merger... Read More

The P&H Milling Group, with support from the Ontario government, is building the first flour mill in Ontario in 75 years. Ontario Minister of Agriculture Jeff Leal made the announcement on Monday at Parrish & Heimbecker’s Hamilton Harbour location, where the new bulk mill is expected to commence operation in 2016. The expansion will allow... Read More

The World Trade Organization has given Canada and Mexico the go-ahead to retaliate against the U.S. for the discrimination caused by American country of origin meat labeling rules. The arbitrators’ decision issued Monday gave Canada permission to implement retaliatory tariffs worth up to C$1.055 billion per year. While the approved figure is less than the... Read More

While grains ended the month of November with little fanfare, the first trading week of December proved to have some push to the upside despite a number of reports that didn’t really change any fundamentals. Soyoil led the complex with a 10.5% gain for the week, which helped support canola prices (+2.25% for the week)... Read More

Haven’t we seen this before? Traders and analysts were expecting Statistics Canada to peg the 2015 canola crop at around 15.6 million tonnes in the agency’s latest production report released Friday morning. Pre-report guesses ranged between 14.5 and 16.4 million. Most farmers reported better than expected canola yields at harvest, so everybody was expecting the... Read More

Is your farm secure? That’s a question farmers need to ask themselves says security specialist Larry Wallace. As traditional rural farm communities become more urban, farms become larger and valuable equipment fills yards and drive sheds. That means farmers need to be more diligent in their security practices, says Wallace, who founded Wallace Risk Management... Read More