Canadian Pacific Railway says net income for its second quarter was a record $371 million, 48 per cent higher than a year ago. Total rail revenue for the quarter was up 13 per cent to $1.642 billion over last year, with Canadian grain shipments accounting for the largest share of the increase. They rose 32 […]

CNS – Last winter, rail movement of western Canadian grain was described as ‘disastrous’ for a number of reasons, including bad weather and record large amount of supplies needing to be moved. But, this spring and summer, movement has started to improve in most places, helped by government legislation and better weather, and the same problems […]

Moscow|Reuters – Dry weather in Russia has accelerated the 2014 harvest, prompting the agriculture ministry and two key analysts to upgrade their forecasts for the annual grain crop on Wednesday. Russia’s agriculture ministry boosted its 2014 grain harvest forecast to 100 million tonnes, up 3 per cent compared to a previous estimate, it said in a […]

Honeybees with roots in the local environment manage much better in the struggle for survival than imported honeybees, say scientists from Aarhus University in Denmark. Many beekeepers believe that it is best to buy queens from outside instead of using the queens they have in their own beehives. However, there is increasing evidence that the […]

CNS – Crop conditions across Manitoba remained mixed during the week ended July 14, with some regions continuing to deal with excess moisture while others benefited from favourable weather, according to the latest report from Manitoba Agriculture. Generally, the early seeded crops were rated in better condition than the late seeded crops, although impacts of excess […]

Chicago | Reuters – The cost to produce a BLT, America’s favorite summer sandwich, hit a record high of US$1.65 in May and will continue to take a bigger bite out of wallets in the coming months, given a pig virus that has ramped up bacon prices and drought-stricken salad crops in California. But price […]

Farmers and others hit by widespread summer flooding in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan may be able to seek deferrals on payments to lenders. Some Prairie lenders, while pledging financial support to flood relief in the region, have also pledged to work with affected farmers and other customers to ease their loan payment obligations. Farm […]

Plans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to recover more of its agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) costs from users moving goods into the country have left Canada officially underwhelmed. Canada’s International Trade Minister Ed Fast said last week the proposal by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to adjust AQI user fees “would […]

New anti-spam regulations that go into effect July 1 will do more than prevent spamming within Canada by Canadian businesses. Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) is a catch-all net that covers all forms of electronic messaging, from email and newsletters to social media and software downloads. Businesses that don’t comply face fines of up to $10 […]

It’s July 2 — the day after Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) came into effect. You’ve just started a new job. Your predecessor left behind a binder containing the business cards of clients. You start your day by sending out emails to the addresses on those cards to introduce yourself and to ask if you can […]