Southern Ont. Deere dealerships to merge

Reading Time: < 1 minute Two John Deere dealerships in southern Ontario have announced plans to merge in May, bringing 10 separate shops under one banner. AgraTurf Equipment Services, which operates at Ayr, Courtland, Simcoe, Smithville and Tavistock, will combine with Elmira Farm Service and its stores at Elmira, Listowel, Mount Forest, Ospringe and Alliston effective May 2 under the […] Read more

CP’s mechanics ratify four-year labour deal

Reading Time: 2 minutes Unionized mechanical services staff at Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) have voted in favour of labour peace with the company through to the end of 2014. About 2,100 shopcraft staff, represented by the Canadian Auto Workers, voted 82 per cent in favour of a new four-year collective agreement at membership meetings over the past two weeks, […] Read more


Que. maple syrup producers to study RFID tracking

Reading Time: < 1 minute Quebec’s maple syrup producers’ federation will have over $110,000 in federal funding to study the use of RFID chips as a traceability tool. The Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec (FPAQ) on Tuesday got a pledge of up to $110,620 from the federal Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI) for its feasibility study. The study […] Read more

Ethanol industry blamed for skyrocketing corn prices

Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain and oilseed prices have reached some of their strongest values in years, and a key contributor is demand for corn from U.S. ethanol plants, according to an analyst. Kevin Grier, senior market analyst with the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont., said the current amount of corn being used by U.S.-based ethanol plants is […] Read more


Federal mandate for biodiesel to move ahead

Reading Time: < 1 minute Federal requirements for diesel and heating oil to contain at least two per cent renewable content are expected to take effect this summer. The federal government announced Thursday it plans to publish amendments to its Renewable Fuels Regulations in the “coming weeks” for a 60-day public comment period, with a proposed coming-into-force date of July […] Read more

CWB to buy two new laker ships for $65M

Reading Time: 3 minutes The owner of Canada’s biggest domestic fleet on the St. Lawrence/Great Lakes network will broker a deal for the Canadian Wheat Board to enter the shipping business. The CWB on Tuesday announced a $65 million deal to buy two new “laker” class vessels now being built in China for completion in 2013, as part of […] Read more


Prairiewide Case IH chain to buy Sask. dealer

Reading Time: 2 minutes A group of Case IH dealerships in expansion mode across the Prairies has made its first move into western Saskatchewan. Publicly-traded Rocky Mountain Dealerships of Calgary on Tuesday announced it has a deal in place to buy the shares of J+B Equipment, a Case IH ag dealership based at Kindersley, Sask., for an undisclosed sum. […] Read more

Buhler to buy Alta. seeding, tillage tool maker

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg ag equipment maker Buhler Industries, best known for Versatile tractors and Farm King implements, has bought its way into the seeding equipment business. The company on Monday announced it has paid $14.5 million for Ezee-On Manufacturing, which makes equipment such as air drills, air carts, offset and tandem discs, post pounders and front-end loaders […] Read more


CP, mechanics’ union reach 11th-hour agreement

Reading Time: < 1 minute Unionized locomotive and rail car repair staff and inspectors at Canadian Pacific Railway have reached a labour deal with the company, less than three days before a scheduled strike. The 2,100 affected shopcraft staff, represented by the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Local 101, will vote over the next three weeks on the tentative settlement, CP […] Read more

New models ramp up WeatherFarm forecast accuracy

Reading Time: 2 minutes The forecast from the Canadian Wheat Board calls for up to 50 per cent greater accuracy from the online weather information system it offers to Prairie farmers. A new modelling system in place on WeatherFarm is expected to reduce error in short-term forecasts (that is, up to 12 hours) by up to 50 per cent, […] Read more