Post to buy West Coast fruit/nut processor

Aiming to claim market share in the private-label food business, the maker of Shreddies, Grape-Nuts and Cranberry Almond Crunch cereals has bought a major B.C. processor of dried fruits, trail mixes and nut butters. St. Louis, Mo.-based Post Foods announced Monday it will buy Golden Boy Foods of Burnaby, B.C. for C$320 million, in a[...]

Harvest winds up in Alberta

The harvest of crops in Alberta has come to an end, and it was “a good year,” according to Harry Brook, crop specialist with the Alberta Ag-Info Centre. There may be some localized crops still standing, but everything else has come off the combine, he added. “I would say there would be only a very,[...]


U.S. FDA moves to ban trans fats, citing health risks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday proposed banning artificial trans fats in processed food ranging from cookies to frozen pizza, citing the risk of heart disease. Partially hydrogenated oils, the primary dietary source of the fats, have been shown to raise "bad" cholesterol. Reducing the use of trans fats could prevent 20,000 heart[...]

Rain delaying harvest in Alberta

Wet, rainy weather seen in growing regions across Alberta has stalled the harvest in some areas during the first week of October. Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta's provincial Ag-Info Centre at Stettler, said farmers are now waiting for drier weather to finish up the last bit of the harvest. About 80 to 85[...]


Prairie wheat, canola still susceptible to pests, diseases

Prairie wheat and canola crops are looking generally good despite being behind in development, but yields could still be impacted by disease and insect problems, crop specialists said. "By and large, the canola crops look really good," said Harry Brook, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development at Stettler. "A concern for farmers is[...]

Alta. seeding aided by warmer weather, but still behind

Warmer conditions in Alberta have advanced the seeding process the past two weeks, but most areas are still a week behind normal, according to a provincial crop specialist. "The last few years we've had cool, wet Mays," said Harry Brook with Alberta's Ag-Info Centre in Stettler. "This year May was cool and wet early on,[...]


McMillan: Southern Alta. winter wheat prevails

Winter wheat crops are reported thriving across Alberta, contrasting multiple reports of challenges in the eastern Prairies. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives reported Monday that reseeding of winter wheat is occurring throughout the province due to poor plant stands. The Saskatchewan government reported Thursday that some winter wheat fields in that province's southeast are[...]

Prairie oat cash market strong with tight supply concerns

Cash prices for new- and old-crop oats in Western Canada are strong, underpinned by expectations that carryover stocks will be tight in 2012-13 and 2013-14. According to Prairie Ag Hotwire, values on Thursday for old crop delivered to the elevator in Western Canada were as high as $4.05 per bushel, while new-crop values ranged from[...]


U.S. corn, soy jump one per cent on planting snarls

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn and soybean futures jumped one per cent on Friday as persistent heavy rains delayed U.S. planting of both crops, threatening production prospects. "Nobody wants to be short due to the planting issue. There is concern now that not everything will get planted," said Roy Huckabay, analyst for Chicago-based trade[...]

U.S. wheat drops over one per cent on bearish global data

U.S. wheat ended more than one per cent lower on Wednesday in volatile dealings after the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) April estimates for 2012-13 global ending supplies were well above analysts' estimates. Corn ended higher but below the trading session highs and soybeans turned down after an initial rally in reaction to the USDA[...]