General, Agriculture News & Resources

Fast-track avoids ‘mistakes from our past’ on trade: Obama

By Reuters April 16, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters –– U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday praised a bipartisan bill that would fast-track trade deals through Congress, urging lawmakers to pass it quickly so his administration can advance a trade pact with Pacific nations. “The bill put forward today would help us write those rules in a way that avoids the […] Read more

General, Markets

Funds blocked from investing in Sask. farmland, for now

By Country Guide Staff April 13, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes Saskatchewan’s government plans to take a closer look at its rules on investment in farmland, but will block such investments by pension funds and other “institutional” investors while the review is underway. The province said Monday it will soon run further consultations and a review of farmland ownership rules as now laid out under the […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

Japan forecaster sees El Nino likely to emerge by summer

By Reuters April 10, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Tokyo | Reuters –– Japan’s weather bureau said in its monthly outlook on Friday that the possibility of an El Nino weather pattern forming by summer remains high, but gave no probability forecast. The previous El Nino, which emerged last summer, ended over winter and conditions appear to be normal now, the bureau said. Last […] Read more

General, Weather

Private wells added to Sask. flood protection program

By Country Guide Staff April 9, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes A provincial program covering Saskatchewan residents’ costs to put up emergency, permanent flood protection has been expanded to include projects to protect private wells. The province’s Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program (EFDRP) is offered to communities, rural municipalities, businesses, non-profit organizations, individual farm and country residences and cottages facing “imminent flooding.” The 2015 program, launched […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

U.S. forecaster now sees 70 per cent chance of El Nino summer

By Reuters April 9, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute New York | Reuters –– A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday raised its forecast for the chance of El Nino conditions during the Northern Hemisphere summer to 70 per cent, up from a 60 per cent chance last month, with a 60 per cent chance it lasts through autumn. The Climate Prediction Center, an […] Read more

(Todd Rosenberg photo via KraftFoodsGroup.com)

Cereals, Dairy Cattle, General, Markets, Reuters

Kraft to combine with Heinz in deal led by 3G, Buffett

By Anjali Athavaley, Sruthi Ramakrishnan March 25, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Ketchup maker H.J. Heinz, owned by 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, is acquiring a majority stake in Kraft Foods Group to create the third-largest North American food company, executives said on Wednesday. Shares of Kraft — which operates 35 plants in Canada, the U.S. and Puerto Rico — were up more […] Read more

Jocelyne Handfield Rheaume, who lost her husband to a work-related farm injury, is featured on a video prepared for Quebec’s Farm Health and Safety Week. (SiOnSavait.ca)

General, Machinery

Ag Safety Week urges farmers to “be the difference”

By Country Guide Staff March 14, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Acting to improve a farm’s safety systems before a problem appears is the focus of this year’s Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, beginning Sunday. The week, running March to 21 in a co-promotion between the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) and the Federation of Agriculture (CFA) with sponsorship from Farm Credit Canada, is themed “Be the Difference.” […] Read more

General, Markets

Guenther: McDonald’s sustainability goals to reach beyond beef

By Lisa Guenther March 12, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers who want to keep supplying the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant chains can expect more scrutiny of their methods going forward. That’s because the chains’ customers appear to be looking for more sustainably-produced food — so companies such as McDonald’s in turn are looking for third-party verification to prove the ingredients they source make the […] Read more

Australian countryside near Bendigo, northwest of Melbourne. (CIA.gov)

General, Markets, Reuters

Australia backs farmers on foreign ownership gripes

By Colin Packham March 5, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canberra | Reuters –– The Australian government has sided with farmers who say official data vastly underestimates foreign ownership of the nation’s farmland, as it moves to clamp down on overseas purchases of agricultural land. Foreign ownership is a key concern for many farmers, a crucial part of the conservative government’s support base, who worry […] Read more

General, Markets, Reuters

Access to Brazil’s Itajai port to open as truck protest ends

By Reuters March 5, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Protesters have agreed to open access to Brazil’s main poultry exporting port of Itajai in Santa Catarina state, the port said on Wednesday, ending a lingering flashpoint after a two-week truck drivers’ protest. A union of autonomous truck drivers agreed to the port’s proposal to raise payments for transporters inside […] Read more

Daily Network News

Moroccan fertilizer maker OCP expects output to drop 30 per cent in Q2, sources say

Feed Grain Weekly: Demand rises despite war uncertainty

How farmers can manage stress, anxiety during spring seeding

General