General, Agriculture News & Resources

CME Group to close most open-outcry futures trading pits

By Tom Polansek February 4, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — CME Group will shutter most of its open-outcry futures pits by July 2, the world’s largest futures market operator said Wednesday, bringing down the curtain on a once-raucous tradition that has been in decline since the rise of computerized trading. The decision ousts traders of products ranging from grain and livestock […] Read more

General, Reuters

Obama proposes creation of stand-alone U.S. food safety agency

By Reuters February 2, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed bringing together the country’s food safety operations into one agency to better monitor food quality in a move that would reshape the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The proposal was put forward as part of the President’s 2016 budget plan. The new agency would combine the food […] Read more

General, Reuters

France says EU orders repayment of $1.5B in ag subsidies

By Reuters January 27, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Paris | Reuters — The European Commission has asked France to repay 1.1 billion euros (C$1.54 billion) of farm subsidies dating back to 2008-2012, the French agriculture ministry said Tuesday. The Commission’s claim, which mainly relates to inaccurate declarations of farm area, initially amounted to around 3.5 billion euros before being negotiated down by France, […] Read more

General, Machinery, Markets

Regulatory requirements seen keeping diesel prices high

By Dave Sims January 26, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Diesel prices in North America aren’t likely to come down to the levels of gasoline anytime soon, according to an analyst. “It’s probably going to trade at a premium to gasoline for some time,” said Phil Flynn, energy market analyst for Price Futures Group in Chicago. One of the main challenges facing […] Read more

Premier Stephen Harper and Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger examine flooded areas around Brandon in July 2014. (PMO photo by Jill Thompson)

General, Weather

Manitoba seeks more climate-responsive risk management

By Country Guide Staff January 21, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute A Manitoba provincial task force has been set up to seek ways in which farm risk management programs could be “more comprehensive and sustainable” in handling “climate-related challenges” such as floods. “Manitoba’s farmers have told us existing agricultural programs can’t adequately address these climate-related challenges, especially as they become more common,” Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn […] Read more

General, Reuters, Weather

Australia weather bureau says models show low chance of El Nino

By Reuters January 20, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sydney | Reuters –– Weather models show a low chance of an El Nino, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said Tuesday, after indicators of the climate event eased in recent weeks. El Nino — a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific — can prompt drought in Southeast Asia and Australia and heavy rains […] Read more

General

Ontario farm registration streamlined

By Country Guide Staff January 15, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ontario farmers filling out their farm business registration (FBR) forms in the next few weeks can look forward to five years of not doing so. Agricorp, the province’s farm programming delivery agency, noted in a statement that while all farmers in Ontario are required to complete the FBR form in 2015, the process has been […] Read more

Canadians had eagerly anticipated Target’s arrival in Canada, built up through events such as this one-day pop-up store in Toronto, benefiting the United Way, in February 2012. (CNW Group/Target photo)

General, Markets, Reuters

In surprise move, Target to pull out of Canada

By Solarina Ho January 15, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes Toronto | Reuters — Target Corp. will abandon its ill-fated expansion into Canada less than two years after launch, the U.S. discount retailer said on Thursday, in a surprise retreat that will put more than 17,000 employees out of work and cost it billions. Shares of Target, which was granted creditor protection for its money-losing […] Read more

General, Weather

Chance of full-blown El Nino seen fading

By Dave Sims January 13, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– Despite frequent predictions that an El Nino weather event would unfold in early 2015, a well known weather expert says it’s growing more and more unlikely we will see one anytime soon. “The latest data suggests a weakening trend and even though we have some of the symptoms of El Nino we’re […] Read more

General, Markets, Reuters

Food issues won’t block EU-U.S. trade deal, German minister says

By Reuters January 12, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin | Reuters — Disagreements about food safety and farming are not likely to stand in the way of a free-trade agreement between the European Union and the U.S., Germany’s farm minister told Reuters on Monday. The two sides are grappling with how to integrate Europe’s food production and farm animal welfare standards into the […] Read more

Daily Network News

Striking JBS workers to return to Colorado plant on promise of talks

Canadian finance minister talks supply chain integrity, pork tariffs with Chinese vice premier

New strategies needed for Canadian agriculture to stand out in global trade