Reading Time: 2 minutes North America’s biggest retail supplier of farm products and services, Agrium Inc , reported record high second-quarter profit on strong demand for crop inputs, but analysts said the severe U.S. drought presents downside risks. National Bank Financial cut Agrium’s rating to "underperform" from "sector perform" on Friday, following a downgrade on Thursday by Dahlman Rose […] Read more
Agrium posts record profit but drought clouds upside
Suitors eyeing CWB but too soon for takeover: Ritz
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said on Tuesday he is aware of interest from "a couple of entities" in taking over the CWB, just as the company previously known as the Canadian Wheat Board tries to survive without its long-held grain monopoly. "We’ve already had a couple of entities come forward saying they would love […] Read more
Prairie heat moderates, rain to cool crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes A heat wave this week across Western Canada’s canola and grain belt has moderated slightly, and rains forecast into next week should sprinkle some relief onto stressed crops, an agricultural meteorologist said. Temperatures that were forecast to reach around 35 C by midweek came in slightly cooler in some areas, said meteorologist Andrew Owen of […] Read more
Prairie crops seen thriving as U.S. Midwest bakes
Reading Time: 2 minutes As crops wither in the U.S. Midwest, Western Canada’s canola and wheat are thriving in adequate moisture and warm temperatures that are forecast to heat up further later this week. Daytime temperatures will climb as high as the mid-30s C (around 95 F) by midweek, with hot spots in central Manitoba and southern and central […] Read more
Corn, soy snap rally, up sharply for week
Reading Time: 4 minutes U.S. grain markets Friday snapped a furious three-week rally that had sent corn prices up more than a third since mid-June, as a downbeat U.S. jobs report provided an excuse for traders to book profits. Although new U.S. Midwest forecasts showed only marginal relief from what may be the worst drought in a quarter-century, traders […] Read more
Corn rally nears record, soy just off 2008 high
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. corn surged nearly four per cent on Thursday, extending one of its biggest rallies ever, while soybeans jumped to within 20 cents of their record high as new forecasts offered no sign of rain relief for withering crops. With fields now at the mercy of what may be the worst U.S. Midwest drought in […] Read more
Viterra enters ‘exclusive’ sale talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Commodities giant Glencore, partnered with Winnipeg’s Richardson International and Calgary’s Agrium, is close to a deal to buy Viterra, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Viterra and Swiss-based commodities trader Glencore are still in talks on price, but a deal could be reached within the next 24 hours at a price above $16 […] Read more
Glencore plans three-way Viterra split, source says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glencore is planning a three-way carve-up of Canada’s largest grain handler Viterra, an industry source said, to help navigate a politically charged federal review process if it wins a looming bidding war for the company. The source told Reuters that the commodity trading giant wanted to buy all of Viterra and then sell its retail […] Read more
Viterra opens up for bidding war
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s largest grain handler said Thursday it has opened its books to potential buyers, setting the stage for a possible bidding war and sending its shares nine per cent higher. Viterra said in a statement it has established a process for considering expressions of interest, including confidentiality agreements. It shed no light on who might […] Read more
Ottawa signals openness to foreign bid for Viterra
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada has signaled it would be open to allowing a foreign bidder such as Swiss-based Glencore to take over Viterra, sending shares of the country’s largest grain handler sharply higher for a second session in a row Monday. Glencore is one of a handful of parties eyeing a bid for Viterra, a Swiss-based industry source […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
