Chicago | Reuters -- U.S. President Donald Trump is assuring a bumper year for farmers as the Nov. 3 election approaches, with record government subsidies projected to make up more than a third of farm income in 2020. The aid programs could be key to Trump's chances of success in swing states such as Wisconsin,[...]
How a major U.S. farm lender left a trail of defaults, lawsuits
Harrod, Ohio | Reuters -- After completing a credit review in a half-hour phone call, a BMO Harris Bank underwriter cleared US$12 million in loans for Ohio corn and soybean producer Greg Kruger in 2013. Kruger had initially asked for a $2 million loan to build a grain elevator. But the Chicago-based bank, one of[...]
Major Quebec hothouse grower seeks creditor protection
One of Quebec's best known greenhouse propagators, who in recent years launched an aggressive expansion into organic vegetables, is seeking creditor protection. Les Serres Lefort, which operates almost 50 acres of greenhouse facilities at Sainte-Clotilde in Quebec's Monteregie, announced Sept. 10 it had filed a notice of intention on Sept. 6 to file a proposal[...]
Pulse weekly outlook: Ample supply drives down feed pulse prices
Prices for feed pulses have dropped over the last month as farmers have turned to the feed market as the only buyer, according to a trader. "Regular processors aren't buying as many low-grade lentils, so guys are tired of sitting on them. So you're starting to see them come to the feed market," said Jay[...]
Altria to marry Canadian pot with big tobacco
Reuters -- Marlboro cigarette maker Altria Group announced a $2.4 billion investment in Cronos Group on Friday, which could give it up to 55 per cent ownership of the Canadian cannabis producer. The deal represents by far the biggest investment by a major tobacco conglomerate in a cannabis company. It comes after Canada legalized the[...]
U.S. grains: Corn tops one-month high on strong U.S. export sales
Chicago | Reuters -- U.S. corn futures touched their highest prices in more than a month on Thursday on strong export demand and as traders adjusted positions ahead of a crop report expected to show supplies tightened over the past year. Soybean futures also rose, extending a rebound from recent losses into a third consecutive[...]
Warm spell raises hopes as Canadian farmers race to finish harvest
Winnipeg/Reuters – Unusually warm temperatures in Western Canada are raising farmers' hopes of a strong finish to a growing season of highs and lows, easing investors' worries about the late harvest. Summer-like weather in Saskatchewan and Alberta, the two biggest wheat and canola-growing provinces in Canada — a top global exporter of both crops —[...]
Harvest woes rally canola, turn some farmers into winners
Winnipeg | Reuters -- As some Western Canada farmers watched rain and snow turn their ripening canola fields into bogs, Rob Stone could count his blessings. Harvest weather was kinder to his farm at Davidson, Sask., about 100 km southeast of Saskatoon, and Stone finished harvesting canola by mid-September. Then, when worries about four million[...]
B.C. farm journal under new ownership
The monthly paper billed as Canada's oldest independently-owned farm journal has yielded a new owner from its own front office. Cathy Glover, the assistant editor and sales manager for Country Life in B.C., was announced Wednesday as the journal's new owner, taking over from retiring editor/publisher Peter Wilding. British Columbia's commercial farmers and ranchers "have[...]
First U.S. trader convicted of spoofing sentenced to jail
Chicago | Reuters -- A U.S. judge sentenced futures trader Michael Coscia to three years in prison on Wednesday, a lighter punishment than prosecutors had sought for the first person criminally convicted of the manipulative trading practice of spoofing. Coscia also was sentenced to two years of supervised release from jail, in a case that[...]
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
