
International farmers may ease Canadian human capital crunch
A global retirement crunch is coming and Canada is ill prepared, report says
Reading Time: 3 minutes As other nations reduce their agricultural footprints in an effort to boost sustainability, their loss could be Canada’s human capital gain, a new report suggests. “The immigration of scientists, data engineers, and entrepreneurs has been recognized as critical to Canada’s growth. A similar approach needs to be adopted to attract farmers,” the authors wrote. The […] Read more

CNH to buy Outback Guidance’s parent firm
Case IH, New Holland maker to pay US$175 million for Hemisphere
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNH Industrial, parent of the Case IH. New Holland, Steyr and Flexi-Coil farm equipment brands, has signed a cash deal to buy satellite positioning tech firm Hemisphere GNSS, parent of the Outback Guidance aftermarket GPS, precision ag and autosteer business. CNH announced Thursday it will pay $175 million for Hemisphere, which has been owned since […] Read more

Ford hikes electric F-150’s price again to battle high costs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. has raised the base price of its popular F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck again, the automaker’s website showed on Thursday, the latest in a series of price hikes aimed at offsetting high costs. The base variant of Ford’s electric F-150 truck now starts at $59,974, excluding shipping and taxes, up […] Read more

Carbon price exemption for farm gas clears Commons
Bill C-234 next headed to Senate
Reading Time: 3 minutes Legislative amendments that would exempt farmers’ eligible purchases of natural gas and propane from federal carbon pricing are now en route to Canada’s Senate. Bill C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by Ben Lobb, the Conservative MP for the southern Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, passed third reading for adoption in the House of Commons on […] Read more

Putting autonomous machinery to the test
Saskatchewan farmers get a chance for a season with an autonomous fertilizer spreader
Reading Time: 5 minutes Anyone who has operated or worked on repairing machinery has from time to time cursed the engineer who came up with an awkward design, or when fighting with a part that is nearly impossible to remove and replace when it fails. But what if one of the major brands knocked on your door and asked […] Read more

CN, mechanics avert strike with tentative deal
Ratification votes pending
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian National Railway and the union representing its mechanics and intermodal and clerical workers have reached a tentative labour deal, averting a potential strike. CN, Unifor Local 100 and Unifor Council 4000 on Monday announced they have reached four new tentative collective agreements to cover about 3,000 railway employees, who had voted earlier this month […] Read more

Manitoba Deere dealer expands westward reach
Enns Bros. to buy Shoal Lake's S.H. Dayton
Reading Time: 2 minutes A major dealer of John Deere equipment in Manitoba is extending its catchment in the province’s west to include a long-established Deere shop. Winnipeg-based Enns Bros. announced Friday it has a deal in place to buy the assets of S.H. Dayton Ltd., a Deere equipment dealership at Shoal Lake, about 100 km northwest of Brandon. […] Read more

If you can’t spray ’em… terminate them
Crushing weed seeds as they go through the combine is another option
Reading Time: 5 minutes Maybe they can resist chemicals, but they can’t resist being crushed — or at least not yet. Harvest weed seed control is the latest development in the battle against weeds, with early adapters working with different designs and seeing success. The concept employs seed mills attached to the rear of the combine, gathering weed seeds […] Read more

Spring road bans loom across Prairies
Mid-March weight limits pending for heavy trucks
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The looming spring melt across Western Canada will likely disrupt some grain and livestock movement over the next few weeks, as seasonal spring road restrictions come into effect across the Prairies. Spring road restrictions set axle weight limits for vehicles moving on certain roads to reduce the damage heavier loads can cause during […] Read more

Cyberattack a $23 million hit on Maple Leaf ledger
Company refused to pay ransom
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last fall’s ransomware attack at pork and poultry packer Maple Leaf Foods led to an “adverse economic impact” of $23 million or more on the company’s bottom line as it worked to restore systems, officials said. The company on Thursday released that estimate as part of its fourth-quarter financial report, in which it booked a […] Read more