Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to weigh into a debate over a controversial U.S. biofuels program with a proposal that would back the position of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, one of his wealthiest backers. In a factsheet on economic policy, the Trump campaign slammed a system of […] Read more
Trump biofuel proposals echo those of backer Icahn
Bayer betting billions farmers will back linked-up supplies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Bayer’s US$66 billion purchase of Monsanto amounts to a long-term bet that farmers will grow to trust combinations of seeds and pesticides rather than continue to pick from ranges of separate products. In the short term, the German drugs and chemicals firm hopes to benefit from a marketing and sales force […] Read more
Anderson named federal Tories’ ag critic in shuffle
Reading Time: 2 minutes A vocal critic of the former Canadian Wheat Board single marketing desk for Prairie wheat and barley is now the lead agriculture critic in Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. David Anderson, the MP for the southwestern Saskatchewan riding of Cypress Hills-Grasslands since 2000, was named Thursday as the Conservatives’ critic for agriculture and agri-food by interim Tory […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Export uncertainty dogs canola
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canola futures don’t appear ready to climb drastically higher anytime soon as uncertainty over Chinese buying weighs on the market, according to a Winnipeg trader and analyst. The recent grain stocks report compiled by Statistics Canada has become a source of pressure for canola, said Ken Ball of PI Financial. StatsCan’s report […] Read more
There’s a spreadsheet that can do that
Provincial farm management staffs have developed tools for everything from converting bushels to tonnes to planning a whole year’s cropping plan
Reading Time: 5 minutes Smartphones and their apps may be handy for some purposes, but they’re not tools for making detailed calculations, especially the kind that you have to take to your banker. That’s where you’re better off with an old-fashioned Excel spreadsheet, and thanks to government extension staff in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, there are many adaptations where […] Read more
Austrian government split on opposition to CETA
Reading Time: 2 minutes Vienna | Reuters –– Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern’s opposition to a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada was countered by fervent praise for the deal from his deputy at a special parliamentary session on the issue on Wednesday. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada, negotiations for which have finished, […] Read more
Bayer clinches Monsanto with raised US$66 billion bid
Reading Time: 4 minutes New York/Frankfurt | Reuters — German drugs and crop chemicals company Bayer has won over U.S. seeds firm Monsanto with an improved takeover offer of US$66 billion including debt, ending months of wrangling after increasing its bid for a third time. The $128 a share deal announced on Wednesday, up from Bayer’s previous offer of […] Read more
TPP study sees net ‘neutral’ effect on dairy sector
Reading Time: 4 minutes An economic impact study on Canada’s participation in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal finds losses in Canada’s dairy sector would be “offset” by gains for dairy processors from cheaper dairy imports. The study, prepared for the federal government by its Office of the Chief Economist and released Friday, notes Canada has offered expanded access […] Read more
Large old-crop canola stocks raise new-crop questions
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canada grew a million more tonnes of canola in 2015-16 than originally reported, according to updated numbers from Statistics Canada, released Wednesday in connection with the Stocks of Principal Field Crops as of July 31 report. The unexpected revision to the old-crop production now has many industry participants questioning just how large […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Stocks add softer undertone to market
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– A stocks report from Statistics Canada has changed the dynamic of the canola market, one analyst says, though prices are not expected to plummet. Statistics Canada estimates canola stocks at 2.016 million tonnes as of July 31. The government agency also upwardly revised year-ago production numbers. “It causes a fairly significant shift […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
