(Drumstick.com)

Nestle sells U.S. ice cream brands to Froneri

Reading Time: 2 minutes Zurich | Reuters — Nestle SA has agreed to sell its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri in a deal valued at US$4 billion, moving control of brands including Häagen-Dazs to a joint venture the Swiss group set up in 2016. Froneri was created after Nestle merged its European ice cream business in 20 countries […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder cattle market under weight of imports

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 lower to $2 higher. It’s that time of year when most feedlots are carrying sufficient numbers and buyers are hesitant to increase ownership unless they can see profitability. Auction market volumes contained weaned and unweaned calves over the past week; premiums returned for feeders […] Read more


Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland waits to enter a ballroom at an event in Ottawa on Dec. 9, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Freeland, U.S. and Mexican officials to meet to pin down trade deal

Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The Trump administration, Mexico and U.S. Democrats on Monday closed in on a deal for labour-related changes to a languishing North American trade pact that may soon allow it to proceed to a vote, as the window for passage this year quickly narrows. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White […] Read more



(CanopyGrowth.com)

Constellation tightens grip on Canopy with CEO appointment

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Constellation Brands finance head David Klein will take over in January as CEO of pot producer Canopy Growth Corp., hardening up the Corona beer maker’s control of a company into which it has sunk US$4 billion. Klein was appointed Canopy chairman in October after Constellation booked a $430 million net loss related to […] Read more



China has boosted its wheat imports from Canada in the wake of the U.S.-China trade war, Ivy Li says. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Grain World: Beijing analyst brings different perspective

Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Ivy Li brought a much different perspective about China to the Grain World conference in Saskatoon. Specializing in Chinese agricultural markets, the Beijing-based independent analyst veered away from the usual statements that often cast China as the bad guy on the world stage. Also, Li pointed out, Canada has been doing […] Read more

KFC is testing a “chicken” sandwich and popcorn “chicken” made with a plant-based meat substitute at one of its Toronto-area stores. (CNW Group/KFC Canada)

KFC tests plant-based ‘fried chicken’ in Ontario

Reading Time: 2 minutes Fast-food chicken chain KFC is collecting feedback from a one-day, one-store test of a new Canadian-made plant-based “fried chicken” product for the Canadian market. The Canadian arm of the Yum Brands-owned chain set up a “limited” test run for what it calls KFC Plant-Based Fried Chicken at its 6055 Creditview Rd. store in Mississauga, Ont. […] Read more


CBOT December 2019 oats with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn fall as hopes fade for China trade deal this year

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell to a two-month low and soybean futures hit a seven-week low on Wednesday on fading expectations for a U.S.-China trade deal before the end of the year, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures closed modestly higher on technical buying and concerns about this week’s decline […] Read more

File photo of propane tanks. (Joe_Potato/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. propane bottlenecks not affecting Canada

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite ongoing shortfalls of propane in some areas of the U.S. Midwest, the situation doesn’t appear to be adversely affecting Canada, according to the Canadian Propane Association. The late harvest in the Midwest has been further hampered by wet conditions, forcing farmers to dry their grain before putting it in the bin. As […] Read more