Agriculture Machinery & Farming Equipment

CN, CP both over revenue limits for 2014-15 grain haul

By Country Guide Staff December 29, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s big two railways will both be required to hand over seven figures in Prairie grain revenue from the 2014-15 crop year after taking in more than their federally-allowed maximums. The Canadian Transportation Agency on Tuesday ruled Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway (CN, CP) exceeded their grain revenue entitlements for the crop year […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Hogs, Livestock, Machinery

CFIA to continue PEDv hog trailer policy until May

By Country Guide Staff December 24, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Emergency federal protocols that have allowed empty hog trucks coming into Manitoba from the U.S. to be cleaned and disinfected on the Manitoba side of the border will now continue until May. In a producer newsletter Thursday, Manitoba Pork chair George Matheson said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which had previously planned to end the […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Weather

Man. First Nations seek to buy Churchill port, rail line

By Country Guide Staff December 18, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes Manitoba’s northern First Nations have responded to the “for sale” notice on the port and rail line that allow Prairie farmers and handlers to ship grain exports through Hudson Bay. The Canadian arm of U.S. shortline firm OmniTrax confirmed Friday it has a letter of intent in hand from a group of First Nations in […] Read more

Machinery

VIDEO: Eight-wheel drive tractor “Big Roy” begins restoration at Versatile

By Scott Garvey December 18, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Winnipeg-based Versatile brought its model 1080 prototype eight-wheel drive tractor, dubbed Big Roy, home for a makeover. Although it’s now officially owned by an agricultural museum, the tractor will play an as-yet unspecified role in Versatile’s celebrations through public appearances arranged by the brand this coming season. Age […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Markets

Ocean freight rate index at historic low, again

By Phil Franz-Warkentin December 17, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada –– The Baltic Dry Index, which gauges the price of moving grain and other goods by sea, is down to new historical lows, less than a month after setting the former floor. The BDI, compiled daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, was quoted at 471 points on Wednesday after falling below 500 points […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Reuters

CP revises hostile bid for Norfolk Southern, again

By Allison Lampert, Euan Rocha December 16, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway slammed railway Norfolk Southern on Wednesday, accusing it of misleading investors even as CP executives rolled out a new bid with increased shareholder protections to acquire the U.S.-based railroad. Executives from Canada’s second-largest railroad said the deal is now in the hands of Norfolk Southern’s shareholders, and urged its board […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Reuters

Norfolk Southern rejects CP’s revised offer

By Reuters December 15, 2015

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — U.S. railroad operator Norfolk Southern has formally rejected a revised offer from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), raising the prospect of a proxy battle. CP shareholder Bill Ackman said last week that CP CEO Hunter Harrison and he have both been sounded out by activists interested in a proxy fight with Norfolk Southern. Ackman […] Read more

Livestock, Machinery

Alberta’s farm worker bill passes, with tweaks

By Country Guide Staff December 12, 2015

Reading Time: 3 minutes A more specific version of the Alberta government’s bill to extend workers’ comp and OHS regulations to paid farm workers has cleared the legislature. Bill 6, the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act, passed third reading 44-29 Thursday. It received royal assent Friday, after the legislature adjourned until Feburary. But the bill, as […] Read more

This moving, wall-sized image of a baler appears in 3D when engineers use it to evaluate component performance or assembly fitment before prototyping begins.

Guide Business, Machinery

Behind closed doors at New Holland’s research facility

New Holland takes us into its secret world located in Pennsylvania

By Scott Garvey December 10, 2015

Reading Time: 5 minutes On August 20, 1940, the New Holland Machine Company signed a deal with Pennsylvania inventor Ed Nault to take ownership of his unique hay baler design. Nault had patented a new knotter that was capable of reliably producing a tight bale, something other fledgling designs at the time really couldn’t do very well, according to […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Markets

Diesel prices remain high across Prairies

By Dave Sims December 8, 2015

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — While the price of crude oil continues to decline across North American markets, diesel remains stubbornly high in Western Canada. Prices are equal to gasoline, or in some cases, exceeding them by as much as 10 cents in some Saskatchewan and Manitoba locations. “Diesel production in the West has been crimped by […] Read more

Daily Network News

Southern California honeybees show resistance to varroa mites

Pulse Weekly: SaskPulse optimistic despite input, crop price concerns

Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say