Reading Time: 2 minutes The nature of eastern Canadian grain logistics, and a strike by St. Lawrence Seaway workers who operate the system’s canals, will see cascading impacts across the system if the situation isn’t resolved quickly, according to Crosby Devitt, CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario. Unifor workers in both Ontario and Quebec walked off the job Sunday […] Read more

Seaway strike backs up Ontario grain
Prairie grain may follow suit if strike backs up traffic via Thunder Bay, GFO warns

Sollio to exit southwestern Ontario grain handling
Country elevator assets to be sold after harvest, co-op to focus on ag retail
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of Canada’s biggest ag co-operatives is moving ahead on plans to “optimize assets” by shedding its stake in grain handling in southwestern Ontario and focusing more closely on retail ag inputs. Sollio Agriculture, the agribusiness arm of Quebec-based Sollio Cooperative Group, on Tuesday announced it will start “an orderly wind-down” of its Ontario Grain […] Read more

High-path avian flu drops into southwestern Ontario
H5N1 confirmed on poultry farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s feather sector is moving to a “heightened biosecurity advisory” after highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed this weekend in a poultry flock. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Sunday it had confirmed high-path H5N1 in a flock in southern Ontario, a day after the Ontario Feather Board Command Centre (FBCC) published a report of […] Read more

P+H reworks Lake Huron grain terminal for larger boats
Dust control also added at Goderich site
Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain and agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker has built out the mooring structures at its Lake Huron grain terminal to allow “all configurations” of boats to load and unload there. The Winnipeg company announced Friday it has completed a new mooring dolphin at its terminal at Goderich, Ont., as well as a new vessel-loading spout […] Read more

Xplornet buys Ontario’s Silo Wireless
Deal includes rural wireless, fibre services
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s biggest rural broadband company has expanded its space in the southwestern Ontario market by buying internet and fibre-to-home provider Silo Wireless. New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications, whose client list already includes over a million rural customers in all provinces, announced it has closed its deal to buy Silo for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives […] Read more

Ontario to host global test for McDonald’s pulseburger
Reading Time: 2 minutes The biggest quick-service dining chain on the planet is set to use southwestern Ontario as the global test market for its first foray into Beyond Meat. McDonald’s announced Thursday it will run a 12-week test for a plant-based burger it calls the “P.L.T.” exclusively at 28 restaurants in the region starting Monday. “This test allows […] Read more

Ginseng exports not in trouble as claimed
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — China has not halted its ginseng imports from Canada despite allegations to the contrary, a spokesperson from Ginseng Ontario says. Rebecca Coates, executive director for Ginseng Ontario, said China is only one of many export destinations for Canadian-grown ginseng. Other major buyers include Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Europe. An official from another […] Read more

Ontario backs frozen vegetable plant upgrades
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian arm of French vegetable processor Bonduelle will put up almost $80 million to upgrade and expand three of its frozen vegetable plants in southwestern Ontario, with provincial government backing. The province on Tuesday announced it will invest up to $8.5 million in Bonduelle Canada’s upgrades for its processing plants at Tecumseh, Ingersoll and […] Read more

Precision ag tech’s link to broadband under study
Reading Time: 2 minutes Crop growers in southwestern Ontario are being asked how their access to high-speed internet, or lack thereof, has helped or hindered their adoption of precision ag tools. Researchers at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), as part of the Regional and Rural Broadband (R2B2) project, are studying how “current and future connectivity” influences […] Read more

Pearce: Ontario crop conditions a tale of two scenarios
Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to getting a handle on current crop conditions in Ontario, it really depends on who you ask. Conditions and progress in the southern portion of the province vary — some considerably — compared to those in eastern Ontario, particularly where it comes to planting corn and soybeans. If there’s one common theme […] Read more