Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s Senate has passed federal legislation that grain grower groups have hoped will help improve rail freight service for the sector this year. Bill C-49, the Transportation Modernization Act, passed third reading in the Senate on Tuesday following a 41-31 vote to approve a message that the Senate “does not insist on its amendments” to […] Read more
Federal rail freight legislation clears Senate
Grain handle drops in CN’s first quarter
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reduced traffic in grain, fertilizers and petroleum, against increased costs from “challenging operating conditions,” ate into the first-quarter bottom line for Canadian National Railway (CN). Montreal-based CN on Monday booked net income of $741 million on total revenues of $3.194 billion for its quarter ending March 31, down from $884 million on $3.206 billion in […] Read more
Grain handle down, costs up in CP’s Q1
Reading Time: < 1 minute Increased traffic in potash and intermodal containers offset an eight per cent drop in grain carloads in Canadian Pacific Railway’s first quarter, against higher costs and “challenging” conditions. Calgary-based CP on Wednesday booked net income of $348 million on gross revenues of $1.662 billion for the quarter ending March 31, down from $431 million on […] Read more
Canadian railways in catch-22 over crude shipment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Canadian railway operators see a lucrative opportunity to transport more crude oil to the U.S. as a rise in output forces producers to find new routes to its southern neighbour. However, their need for long-term contracts and the pressure to move a surplus of grains in the country is making it hard to […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Demand shifting at Alberta feedlots
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Demand has shifted at Alberta feedlots this year with more forward contracting and less business taking place in the spot market, according to an analyst. “In a lot of years we’ve seen the demand has stayed in the spot market but this year there were more forward purchases that were done by […] Read more
CN’s Q4 grain handle down in ‘challenging conditions’
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. income tax reform more than offset “challenging” conditions, including reduced grain handle, in Canadian National Railway’s fourth fiscal quarter. Montreal-based CN on Tuesday reported net income of $2.611 billion on total revenues of $3.285 billion for its fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, up from $1.018 billion on $3.217 billion in the year-earlier Q4. The […] Read more
Grain handle down in CP’s ‘best-ever’ fourth quarter
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. income tax reform and significant increases in non-grain traffic more than offset a dip in Canadian Pacific Railway’s grain handle in its fourth quarter of 2017. Calgary-based CP on Thursday reported net income of $984 million on $1.713 billion in gross revenues in what it described as its “best-ever” fourth quarter, up from $384 […] Read more
U.S. agribusiness deal not a priority for Glencore
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lausanne | Reuters — Glencore does not see further consolidation in agricultural commodities as straightforward and views a U.S. acquisition as less crucial than in the past, the group’s agriculture chief said Tuesday. The diversified trading and mining group had pointed to the possibility of making bolt-on acquisitions after posting improved results for 2016 and […] Read more
Taking fertilizer beyond yield
Plant breeding is the ultimate solution but in the meantime, foliar fertilizer shows promise in reducing micronutrient deficiency
Reading Time: 3 minutes While many people are focused on the fight to end hunger, Ismail Cakmak is focused on the fight to end hidden hunger. “Hunger is a lack of food and that is related to food security,” Cakmak told participants during a special seminar at the University of Manitoba this summer. “But hidden hunger means lack of […] Read more
Active marketing on the farm
On these farms, marketing is no longer a matter of waiting for the right price
Reading Time: 7 minutes No matter how closely they watch the skies, farmers can’t control the weather. Nor do they have any influence over the amount of volatility in their markets. But pricing? Well that, says Irmi Critcher, is one aspect of farming that producers can exercise some control over, and that she works hard at. “You can put […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
