Reading Time: 2 minutes Two independent crop input retailers in northeastern Alberta will become part of Richardson Pioneer’s ag retail chain starting Friday. Richardson on Monday announced it will buy Webb’s Crop Services Ltd. at Vermilion and Agro Guys Inc. at Forestburg, about 165 km southwest of Vermilion, for undisclosed sums. Both deals are expected to close Thursday, with […] Read more
Richardson buying two Alberta crop input retailers
Agrium forecasts less profitable year than expected
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Fertilizer maker Agrium, the world’s biggest farm retailer, on Thursday forecast a less profitable year than expected and said its quarterly profit plunged. The Calgary-based company said after normal trading hours that it expects to earn $4.50-$6 per share in 2017. The midpoint of $5.25 fell below analysts’ average estimate of $5.45, according […] Read more
Richardson buys eastern Saskatchewan input shop
Reading Time: < 1 minute Prairie grain firm Richardson Pioneer has added to its share of the eastern Saskatchewan crop input retail market with a deal for Crop First Agro. Financial terms aren’t being disclosed for the deal between privately-held Richardson and Crop First Agro, an independent retailer at Grenfell, Sask., about 100 km south of Yorkton, except that the […] Read more
Richardson to expand Prairie retail space
Reading Time: < 1 minute Winnipeg grain firm Richardson International plans to expand its crop input retail business across the Prairies, starting in central and western Saskatchewan with plans for two new stores and a rebuilt store. The company said Monday it will replace its crop input facility at Wakaw, about 90 km northeast of Saskatoon, and build new at […] Read more
Five tips for Keeping it Clean from Cereals Canada
With increased scrutiny from end-users farmers need to be vigilant to ensure their crops aren’t rejected
Stick to the pre-harvest interval (PHI). The PHI (or Spray to Swath Interval) is the number of days that must pass between the last application of a pesticide and swathing or straight combining. Read labels carefully and check out the provincial Guides to Crop Protection or consult your local provincial agronomist for more information. After[...]
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Agrium to buy Cargill’s U.S. ag retail business
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. grain trader Cargill has agreed to sell its ag retail business in the United States to crop input seller and distributor Agrium, the companies said Wednesday. Calgary-based Agrium, North America’s largest retail seller of crop inputs such as seed, fertilizer and pesticides, will acquire 18 ag retail locations in Nebraska,[...]
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Where do you cut when you have to cut costs?
As crop prices drop, growers have a new focus on cost containment. Weed control is always a big bill, so it’s only natural this gets a hard look — but taking the wrong steps could cost you money
Reading Time: 4 minutes High crop prices always make the decision to apply crop protection products relatively easy. Just a few years ago, when canola was north of $700 per tonne and wheat was sitting near $500 per tonne, the question was never “Should I spray?” it was “Why wouldn’t I spray?” After all, at those prices if you[...]
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No fertilizer panic – for now
Supplies for 2016 seem healthy, but there’s no time like today to lock in your needs
Reading Time: 3 minutes Six years ago, the International Plant Nutrient Institute calculated a timeline for the world’s known reserves of key nutrients. It suggested we’ve got lots of breathing room, including 55 years for N-based fertilizers, 235 years for potash, 696 for phosphate, and a virtually inexhaustible supply of sulphur. Of course, as we use up some of[...]
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Cargill to stop selling seed, inputs in Black Sea region
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– Cargill will stop selling seeds, fertilizer and crop chemicals to farmers in the Black Sea region, as the global trader continues to cut back operations in the face of sliding commodity prices. The 150-year old company, one of the world’s largest privately held corporations, is in the middle of a restructuring[...]
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The search for a ‘tipping point’ in corn production
Is corn ready for prime time on these Saskatchewan fields? Maybe yes, if we can get the marketing right
Reading Time: 4 minutes Which has to come first, the acreage, or the market to justify it? That’s exactly the chicken-or-egg, catch-22 sort of situation that farmers on the Prairies have found themselves in repeatedly in past years as their cropping options have changed. First it was the canola revolution of the 1970s and ’80s which made Canada into[...]
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A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
