A flooded field north of Winnipeg at St. Andrews, Man., on March 29, 2017.  (Greg Berg photo)

Flood concerns ease across Prairies outside southern Manitoba

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — A slower-than-normal spring melt has helped to alleviate most flood concerns across the Prairies, except in southern Manitoba. That part of Manitoba, especially the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg, isn’t out of the woods just yet. Flooding may still reach levels on par with high water levels reached in 2009, according to […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Rising diesel prices coming

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Higher diesel prices are on the horizon for Canada and the U.S. in 2019. GasBuddy.com senior petroleum analyst Dan McTeague pointed to an increase in overall demand, combined with a slowdown in heavy oil production and the federal carbon tax as well as pending IMO 2020 regulations — that is, the International Marine […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market balancing many variables

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded steady to $3 higher while calves were $4 lower to $5 higher depending on the region. Weakness in the live and feeder cattle futures contributed to the variable price structure; however, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $268-$270 on a dressed basis, […] Read more

(Dow.com)

DowDuPont completes spinoff of materials science unit

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — DowDuPont said Monday it had completed the spinoff of its materials science division as part of a plan to split the chemical producer into three separate units. Shares of the new division, Dow, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Dow and Dupont completed a US$130 billion merger in […] Read more


Edwin Hardeman, at right with his attorneys Jennifer Moore (left) and Aimee Wagstaff, speaks to the media, after Bayer was found liable for Hardeman’s non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma arising from his use of Roundup herbicide, at a federal courthouse in San Francisco on March 27, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Alexandria Sage)

U.S. jury says Bayer must pay $80 million to man in Roundup cancer trial

Reading Time: 3 minutes San Francisco/New York | Reuters –– A U.S. jury on Wednesday awarded US$80 million to a man who claimed his use of Bayer’s glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup caused his cancer, in the latest legal setback for the company facing thousands of similar lawsuits. The jury in San Francisco federal court said the company was liable for […] Read more

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democrats’ 2020 nomination for president, greets Ella Clare Campbell after speaking in Memphis on March 17, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Karen Pulfer Focht)

Democratic contender Warren targets corporate agriculture

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Democratic presidential contender Elizabeth Warren took aim on Wednesday at agricultural conglomerates, promising her administration would break up big agribusiness mergers that she said have hurt family farmers. Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts and a fierce Wall Street critic, released a broad plan that she said would make it easier […] Read more


Louis Dreyfus’ oilseed processing plant at Yorkton, Sask. (LDC.com)

Grain trade regional tie-ups seen more likely over mega-deals

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — The agricultural trading industry can expect more consolidation at a regional level in an effort to improve margins, but big deals between global merchants are becoming more difficult, Louis Dreyfus’ CEO said. Merchants have been grappling with lower profits from sourcing and shipping commodities such as grain and oilseeds, prompting cutbacks […] Read more

Tom Geisler surveys damage to his farm, following flooding at Winslow, Neb., northwest of Omaha, on March 20, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Humeyra Pamuk)

U.S. farmers face devastation following Midwest floods

Reading Time: 4 minutes Winslow, Neb./Chicago | Reuters — Midwestern farmers have been gambling they could ride out the U.S.-China trade war by storing their corn and soybeans anywhere they could — in bins, plastic tubes, in barns or even outside. Now, the unthinkable has happened. Record floods have devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt across Iowa, […] Read more


Finance Minister Bill Morneau appears at a pre-budget event March 14 at the Toronto Kiwanis Boys + Girls Clubs. (BMorneau.liberal.ca)

Farm groups see something for everyone in federal budget

Reading Time: 4 minutes Response so far from farm and agribusiness organizations to Tuesday’s pre-election budget suggests the federal government has managed to find at least one line item for everyone in the ag sector. Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s budget pledges compensation for supply-managed sectors facing financial hits from international trade pacts, funding for a new federal food policy […] Read more