Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Scientists have identified a chemical compound released by locusts that causes them to swarm, opening the door to possible new ways to prevent these insects from devouring crops vital to human sustenance as they have for millennia. Researchers said on Wednesday they identified the pheromone — that is, a chemical produced […] Read more
Locust swarming pheromone identified in step toward curbing plagues
Paying it forward
Could a philanthropic gift be the right succession strategy for your farm?
Reading Time: 8 minutes In terms of size, W.A. Ranches’ gift to the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine (UCVM) is the biggest donation of ranch property ever made to a North American university, adding up to 19,000 acres of land and 1,000 head of cattle for a total value of $44 million. Although precedent setting in many […] Read more
Cannabis industry readies for M+A after COVID-19 boosts weed demand
Companies betting on U.S. market growth after election
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — After nearly a year of next-to-no dealmaking, cannabis companies are gearing up for mergers and acquisitions (M+A) as realistic stock valuations and the prospect of U.S. legalization attract buyers to a sector that has been decimated by oversupply and other issues, executives and investors say. Profitable cannabis companies want to buy their way […] Read more
North American ammonium nitrate laws best in world, Nutrien CEO says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s regulations for handling ammonium nitrate, a potentially explosive product used in fertilizer and in the mining industry, are the strictest in the world, the CEO of Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien said Tuesday. An ammonium nitrate stockpile exploded last week in Beirut killing at least 171 people, injuring 6,000 and […] Read more
Who owned the chemicals that blew up Beirut? No one will say
The fertilizer's Georgian producer has since been dissolved; the ship that brought it to Lebanon sank in 2018
Reading Time: 5 minutes Moscow/Dubai/London | Reuters — In the murky story of how a cache of highly explosive ammonium nitrate ended up on the Beirut waterfront, one thing is clear — no one has ever publicly come forward to claim it. There are many unanswered questions surrounding last week’s huge, deadly blast in the Lebanese capital, but ownership […] Read more
Nutrien cuts profit forecast on weak ammonia prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien on Monday cut its annual adjusted profit forecast as weaker-than-normal industrial demand held back prices for ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate. The company cut the top end of its 2020 adjusted earnings per share forecast to $1.90 from $2.10 earlier, while retaining the lower end at $1.50. Even as […] Read more
Unasked-for seed packets considered ‘low-risk’
But don't plant, flush or compost them, CFIA warns
Reading Time: 3 minutes Federal inspectors say the unsolicited packages of seeds that have recently turned up in mailboxes across the country so far look to be “low-risk” — but still advise the public not to plant them. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) have both reported […] Read more
Missing Beirut silo worker’s family clings to hope
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beirut | Reuters — Before he went missing on Aug. 4, Ghassan Hasrouty, an employee of Beirut’s giant grain silos for 38 years, thought he was working in the safest place in the city. The reinforced concrete walls and underground rooms were his shelter for many days during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. He used to […] Read more
Is your farm transition on-track?
As farms grow in value, it gets tempting to think succession planning is too risky to consider. It’s why only eight per cent of Canadian farms have written plans. But maybe there’s a way after all
Reading Time: 10 minutes Whether you call it a succession plan or a transition plan, if the very idea makes you wince, you’re not alone. Canada’s farmers are older than ever — according to Statistics Canada, more farmers are over 70 than under 35 — yet only about eight per cent of all farmers have a written succession plan. […] Read more
COVID-19 case confirmed at Maple Leaf hog plant
Reading Time: < 1 minute A worker at Maple Leaf Foods’ hog slaughter and processing plant at Brandon, Man. is recovering at home after testing positive for COVID-19, the Manitoba Co-operator has reported. The company said it received word over the long weekend about the case. Citing its own review of the situation and consultation with public health officials, the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
