(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. EPA pulls back report saying glyphosate not likely carcinogenic

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday pulled a report offline that concluded glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, saying the document was inadvertently published and the agency had not finished its review of the chemical, a key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicides. The 86-page report, seen by […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cost index for railways’ grain revenue cap gets boost

Reading Time: 2 minutes The loonie’s decline since last year has led federal regulators to dial up the index guiding how much money Canada’s big two railways get to keep from hauling Prairie grain. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) announced Friday it will raise its volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) by 4.8 per cent, to 1.3275, for the 2016-17 […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Limited buying interest softens feeder market

Reading Time: 2 minutes Just when I thought feeder cattle prices were stabilizing, once again the unexpected occurs. A sharp rally in U.S. grain futures, along with weaker fed cattle prices, caused western Canadian feeder cattle to trade $6-$12 lower compared to week-ago levels. Auction markets reported limited buying interest, with often only two or three larger feedlots stepping […] Read more


(Photo courtesy CN)

CN books lower first-quarter grain handle

Reading Time: 2 minutes Higher revenue per carload offset reduced grain and fertilizer traffic for Canadian National Railway (CN) in its first fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN on Monday reported overall net income of $792 million on total revenues of $2.964 billion for the quarter ending March 31, up from $704 million on $3.098 billion in the year-earlier Q1. The […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Pork prices gain on seasonal demand, tighter numbers

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Western Canadian cash hog prices have been trending higher as supplies tighten and demand increases moving into the summer, two Prairie analysts say. “A lot of that has to do with lower slaughter numbers, higher pork cutout values,” said Brad Marceniuk, a livestock economist with the Saskatchewan government in Saskatoon. Hog numbers […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Ottawa moves to extend expanded rail interswitching

Reading Time: 4 minutes Prairie crop growers hoping that changes in federal rail freight rules will continue past their expiration date are about to get their wish. Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Friday announced they would bring forward a resolution in Parliament to extend provisions of the previous government’s Bill C-30, the Fair Rail […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

CP pulls more grain for less in first quarter

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) hauled more carloads of Canadian grain in its first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year — but for less revenue per car. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday reported overall net income of $540 million on revenues of $1.591 billion for its quarter ending March 31, up from $320 […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Canada’s farmers seen seeding less canola than expected

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian farmers intend to seed less canola than expected, and will sow record-large areas with pulse crops, according to the government’s first farmer survey of crop sowings for 2016, released on Thursday. Wheat seedings are also expected to decline, but not as much as traders and analysts expected on average. Statistics Canada estimated that […] Read more