A three-year deal still needs to be ratified by workers, but Canadian National (CN) railway reports today that a tentative deal has been struck with the Teamsters union and a rail strike has been averted. The threatened strike would have crippled an already severely taxed logistics system trying to move the huge 2013 crop. As… Read More

If Manitoba farmers weren’t concerned enough about the arrival of clubroot in two canola fields this summer, perhaps the latest confirmation of clubroot galls found in a North Dakota canola field will serve as a wake up call. Of course, this also serves as a giant red flag for American canola growers as well. The… Read More

Cigi (more formally the Canadian International Grains Institute) is on the receiving end of a Canadian government commitment to the tune of $6.4 million to establish a Moroccan National Durum Technical Training Centre (DTTC) in Casablanca. According to a Cigi press release, funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) over the… Read More

Manitoba’s NDP government very quietly established, de-established (their word, not mine) and re-named several government ministries on Friday. How quietly? There was no press release, no official word, just an order in council that eventually got circulated to media et al. Of particular note for farmers and the agriculture community, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food… Read More

Langbank, Saskatchewan-based SeedHawk has been bought by its Swedish manufacturing partner Vaderstad, according to a press release. The company will maintain its head office and processing facility, home to 250 employees, at Langbank. “We see great potential in Seed Hawk. One of the keys to the North American market is local presence, and Tempo, our… Read More

The Beef Farmers of Ontario, formerly the Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, has launched its new name, look and website, a change decided on this past February at the annual general meeting. “Given the changing dynamics and expectations of our industry, we see the change in name as an opportunity to not only build on, but to… Read More

Earlier this month, the Washington State Academy of Science published a white paper on Initiative 522 (I-522), a Washington State initiative aimed to institute mandatory labeling of food containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). On November 5th, the initiative will be taken to the public, and the state will vote on the proposal. The debate continues… Read More