Monsanto wins $1 bln award against DuPont

Reading Time: 2 minutes Shares of Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, rose on Thursday and DuPont shares fell after Monsanto won a $1 billion victory over its archrival in a lawsuit concerning patents in the agricultural seed market. The victory, which dealt with genetically modified seeds that allow crops to tolerate herbicides, should have little immediate impact in […] Read more

No ad hoc aid for Ontario producers: Ritz

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government doesn’t expect to announce any ad hoc aid programs for Ontario farmers suffering from drought, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told reporters in Saskatoon July 31. "I think we have fullness in our programming that allows us the latitude to address this," Ritz said. Earlier in the day Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty asked […] Read more


Some showers seen for drought-stricken U.S. crops

Reading Time: 2 minutes A better chance of rain was expected late this week in portions of the drought-stricken U.S. Midwest, bringing some relief to the struggling corn and soybean crops, an agricultural meteorologist said on Wednesday. "The U.S. weather model has a little wetter forecast than yesterday, but overall it looks like a similar pattern in August that […] Read more

Manitoba canola growers urged to scout for blackleg

Reading Time: 2 minutes Manitoba canola growers are being urged to check their fields for blackleg infections after two severely infected fields were discovered recently in the province even though the varieties were rated as blackleg resistant. "It’s the worst blackleg I have ever seen and I’ve been looking at blackleg in canola since the late ’90s," Manitoba Agriculture, […] Read more


CWB announces grain-handling agreement with Richardson

Reading Time: < 1 minute CWB today announced it has reached an agreement with Richardson International Limited to handle grain from farmers who want to market their grain through CWB pools. There are now more than 170 locations across the West where farmers can deliver grain to CWB.  Richardson joins Viterra, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Mission Terminal, West Central Road and […] Read more

Storage and drying: build more, or leave to the pros?

Reading Time: 2 minutes Watch for a full version of this story in the August-September issue of Country Guide East. Is storage and drying part of doing business in this modern era of farming? Or is it a type of on-farm management that growers should leave to the professionals? It all depends on who’s answering those questions. Across much […] Read more


Corn continues rally, wheat pulls back

Reading Time: 3 minutes Corn futures fell after rising to new contract highs on Tuesday on month-end profit taking, with the spot contract rising 20 per cent for the month to post the biggest two-month rally since the last major drought of 1988. Gains for the months of June and July totalled 45 per cent as the worst drought […] Read more

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


Louis Dreyfus to handle grain for CWB

Reading Time: < 1 minute CWB, formerly the Canadian Wheat Board, announced a new logo and a handling agreement with another grain company at a press conference in Winnipeg Tuesday morning. CWB also announced Prairie grain production estimates for 2012, and sales volume for the crop year ending today.  "We have a brand new look, a solid business model and […] Read more

Famed wheat breeder Barrie Campbell passes

Reading Time: 2 minutes Barrie Campbell, whose namesake variety AC Barrie still makes up an important part of Prairie wheat acreage, passed away in Winnipeg July 16 at age 89. When Campbell retired in 1988 after 39 years as a wheat breeder at the Agriculture Canada research station in Winnipeg, his varieties accounted for more than 70 per cent […] Read more