U.S. food companies spent almost as much lobbying Congress in the first quarter of 2014 as they did in the full year in 2013, a sign the industry may have intensified its fight against state labelling requirements for genetically engineered foods, according to a report released Tuesday. The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), along with companies […]

A coalition of U.S. grain groups has urged the Department of Agriculture to immediately restore official grain inspection services at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, which is involved in a long-running labor dispute. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the 22 national, regional and state organizations said disruptions at the port “put at […]

Canola crops in southern Manitoba are growing at a wider range of stages than usual, with many behind their normal development stage, scouts touring the fertile western Prairies found on Monday. Some canola was just beginning to flower, while other crops were in full bloom, canola’s critical development period. Other fields of canola in south-central […]

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 […]