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Trucker shortage troublesome for Prairie cattle industry

Reading Time: 4 minutes CNS Canada — As large volumes of cattle make their way to western Canadian auction marts this fall, buyers are having problems finding truckers to haul them. Those problems may get worse in the future, as federal regulations for cattle hauling could possibly change. “I would say it’s worse this year than other years so […] Read more

The real surprise in AGCO’s unveiling of the new IDEAL combine was the name it was wearing when it made its North American debut.

The new AGCO strategy

The company gets serious about launching FENDT as its high-tech brand in North America

Reading Time: 6 minutes When I received my invitation from AGCO to attend a media event earlier this summer, I was told there would be a surprise. It was, said the company’s PR agent, to be the unveiling of the new IDEAL combine. Hardly a surprise, I muttered to myself. AGCO had debuted the IDEAL in Germany last November, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

ADM ramps up ethanol sales in Chicago, irking rivals

Reading Time: 3 minutes New York/Chicago | Reuters — Archer Daniels Midland has sold unusually high volumes of ethanol into the Chicago market since late last year as export markets dried up, driving down prices in the U.S. Midwest and angering the company’s rivals, according to traders and regulatory data. The Illinois-based global commodities powerhouse, a major ethanol producer, […] Read more

Using an RG 1300 C allows a grower to apply urea while seeding a cover crop into standing corn.

New from old

Adapting old machines to precision ag is possible after all

Reading Time: 5 minutes When it comes to reusing, recycling or refashioning, farmers have always been the best. But mention “precision ag” and the feeling is that everything has to be expensive and brand shining new. Seldom does it seem possible to take something that’s already on the farm and rework it into something to use today. What if […] Read more


Industry moves toward allowing producers to share field data.

Practical data

Brands look to break down the barriers that prevent farmers from integrating big data across lines

Reading Time: 2 minutes When telematics and digital data gathering technologies began appearing as options on major brand equipment a decade or so ago, it was a world full of boundaries — between those digital program offerings, that is. Some brands decided early on to go down the path of proprietary systems. Buy a green tractor, pair it with […] Read more

Grain being loaded on a ship at the Hudson Bay port of Churchill in 2015. Former owner OmniTrax shut down the port facility before the 2016 shipping season began. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Grain firms warn of competitive fairness on Churchill assistance

Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada — The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) wants assurances that any government incentives used to upgrade the rail line to Churchill, Man., and the port there are not used to support competing businesses. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the WGEA, said the organization’s membership of major grain-handling companies are concerned their competitors could […] Read more



A drone hovers over crops near Laval, Que. in 2015. (Onfokus/iStock/Getty Images)

Drone data firm invests in precision ag analytics

Reading Time: < 1 minute Southwestern Ontario crop input retailer and grain handler South West Ag Partners has made a deal to sell its precision agriculture analytics business to an expansion-minded drone data provider. Toronto-based Deveron UAS announced Aug. 28 it will trade a 9.9 per cent share of its business plus $320,000 cash for South West Ag’s Veritas Farm […] Read more


The Port of Churchill in 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

AGT sees ‘further port access’ in Hudson Bay deal

Reading Time: 3 minutes The grain industry player in a deal to restore and restart the Hudson Bay Railway and Port of Churchill has factored the port’s access to Arctic tidewater into its business plan. Regina-based pulse processor AGT Food and Ingredients is one of the members of the Arctic Gateway Group, which on Friday confirmed a deal to […] Read more

Goods portside at Churchill in September 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Hudson Bay rail line repairs to start ‘immediately’

Reading Time: 3 minutes Off-and-on talks toward a new ownership group for the Hudson Bay Railway have produced a deal, which it’s hoped will lead to the line’s repair before this winter, federal officials announced Friday. Federal Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr and Northern Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced the Arctic Gateway Group Limited Partnership has bought the Hudson […] Read more