Reading Time: 2 minutes E-marketplace Farmers Business Network (FBN) has disposed of the annual membership fee that allowed members access to its various buying groups and services. California-based FBN, which has operated in the U.S. since 2014 and expanded to Canada in 2017, announced Tuesday (Sept. 15) its farmer members may now have “access to a select range of […] Read more
FBN cuts yearly membership fee to zero
Ag e-commerce firm offers free accounts to farmers
U.S. farming body, Zambian firm partner aim to boost crop yields
Country rebuilding drought-battered ag sector
Reading Time: < 1 minute Lusaka | Reuters — A U.S. non-profit organization has launched a US$40 million joint venture with one of Zambia’s top farm suppliers to boost crop yields and food security as farmers struggle to access finance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the local company said on Sunday. The chairman of African Green Resources (AGR), Zuneid Yousuf, said […] Read more
Probe eyes possibility of ‘co-ordinated behaviour’ in Big Ag
Competition Bureau probes majors' response to FBN's Canadian launch
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s Competition Bureau is investigating leading agriculture companies for allegedly attempting to drive a California-based online farm-supply retailer out of the Canadian market. Documents filed in Federal Court show Federated Co-operatives, Cargill, Winfield United Canada, Univar Canada, BASF Canada Inc., Corteva and Bayer CropScience (and, by extension, Monsanto Canada) are all under investigation. Investigators with […] Read more
Alberta’s Crop Management Network expands reach
Reading Time: < 1 minute A crop input dealer northwest of Edmonton is the newest link in the Crop Management Network ag retail chain. CMN, whose chain includes retailers in seven other central Alberta communities, said Thursday it has purchased the assets of Dow Fertilizer, which operates sites at Onoway and Mayerthorpe, effective Jan. 9. “We are very excited to […] Read more
P+H to buy Louis Dreyfus’ Prairie elevators
Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated — Commodities and agrifood giant Louis Dreyfus Co. is stepping out of the grain handling business it built in Canada with a deal to sell its Prairie elevator network. Louis Dreyfus (LDC) announced Wednesday it has an agreement in place to sell its 10 elevators across Western Canada to Winnipeg grain company Parrish and […] Read more
Sylvite set to buy Thompsons agronomy business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario grain and bean handler Thompsons Ltd. is set to sell its crop agronomy business to a retail business partner in that province. U.S. grain firm The Andersons, the owner of Thompsons since January, announced Tuesday in its second-quarter report it plans to sell Thompsons’ “agronomy assets” to Burlington, Ont.-based Sylvite Holdings. Financial terms of […] Read more
Richardson buys Peace-region input retailer
Reading Time: < 1 minute Grain handler Richardson Pioneer has moved to shore up its presence in northern Alberta’s crop input market with a deal for a Peace-region dealership. Winnipeg-based Richardson announced Wednesday it has bought Agland Seed and Chemical at La Crete, Alta., about 320 km north of Peace River. The deal, which closed Tuesday, will see all of […] Read more
La Coop federee’s Ontario grain play cleared
Reading Time: 3 minutes La Coop federee’s plans to expand into southern Ontario’s grain handling and crop input retail sectors are now down by four retail sites. The federal Competition Bureau said Tuesday it has an agreement in place for its approval of a deal which will see Cargill’s Ontario grain and ag retail outlets and its joint-venture stake […] Read more
Richardson to retail in west-central Saskatchewan
Reading Time: < 1 minute Prairie grain firm Richardson International plans to build out its retail market share in west-central Saskatchewan with a new inputs centre southwest of Saskatoon. Privately-held Richardson said July 30 it would begin construction shortly on the new facility in Delisle, about 35 km southwest of the city, to open for the 2019 growing season. The […] Read more
P+H to double down on northwestern Manitoba grain
Reading Time: 2 minutes UPDATED/CORRECTED, Aug. 17 — Winnipeg grain company Parrish and Heimbecker has plans to double its grain handle out of northwestern Manitoba with a new elevator and crop input centre. The company announced Aug. 1 it will put up a new facility in the RM of Gilbert Plains, with 25,000 to 30,000 tonnes of storage capacity […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
