Agriculture Weather & Forecast

U.K. floods pose threat to animal welfare, farm investment

By Nigel Hunt February 13, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes London | Reuters — The immediate threat to British agriculture from floods and storms has put animal welfare in the spotlight, but in the long term increasingly erratic weather is likely deter investment despite continuing global growth in demand for food. Floods have destroyed cattle bedding and feed in flood-hit regions such as southwest England […] Read more

Crops, Weather, Winter Wheat

Spring flooding not a concern for Prairie winter wheat

By Terryn Shiells February 12, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Some Prairie winter wheat-growing regions may have received large amounts of snow so far this winter, but flooding shouldn’t be a concern this spring. “We’ve run into some problems when we’ve had snowmelt not moving off of fields” in the past, said Bruce Burnett, weather and crop specialist with CWB in Winnipeg. […] Read more

CN’s last work stoppage saw its Teamster-represented engineers walk the picket line in 2009. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Crops, Machinery, Markets, Weather

CN, Teamsters reach new deal to avoid conductors’ strike

By Country Guide Staff February 6, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Conductors, trainmen and yardmen for Canadian National Railway (CN) will remain on the job following an 11th-hour tentative agreement under threat of back-to-work legislation. “We commend the leadership of the (Teamsters Canada Rail Conference unit) for reaching consensus with the company and averting a possible strike,” CN chief operating officer Jim Vena said in a […] Read more

Crops, Reuters, Weather

California water allocation forecast hits record-low level

By Steve Gorman February 1, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — A worsening drought in California will likely force a first-ever complete cutoff this year in state-supplied water sold to 29 irrigation districts, public water agencies and municipalities up and down the state, officials said Friday. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected […] Read more

Livestock, Weather

Australian ranchers set for drought-relieving rains

By Colin Packham January 30, 2014

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sydney | Reuters — Australian cattle farmers will receive much-needed rains in the next two days, forecasters said Wednesday, offering some relief to ranchers struggling to keep animals alive during a period of prolonged drought in the world’s No. 3 beef exporter. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said much of prime Queensland pastoral land, home […] Read more

Crops, Markets, Weather

U.S. grains: Large global supplies knock down soy, wheat

By Tom Polansek January 30, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures tumbled on Wednesday under pressure from expectations that a bumper South American crop will raise global inventories, while large supplies pushed wheat futures to a 3-1/2 year low. Corn futures also declined. Rains in hot, dry areas of Argentina improved the outlook for soybean production by “confining and shrinking […] Read more

Crops, Weather, Winter Wheat

Richardson joins revamped winter wheat initiative

January 22, 2014

Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain handler Richardson International has signed on as a partner in a new organization to promote winter wheat acres in the West. Winnipeg-based, privately-held Richardson is joining the Western Winter Wheat Initiative, a new body formed out of the Winter Cereals Sustainability in Action program, set up in 2009. Ducks Unlimited Canada and Bayer CropScience, […] Read more

Crops, Weather

California governor declares drought emergency

By Sarah McBride January 18, 2014

Reading Time: 4 minutes California Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency Friday, a move that will allow the state to seek federal aid as it grapples with what could turn out to be the driest year in recorded state history for many areas. The dry year California experienced in 2013 has left fresh water reservoirs with a fraction […] Read more

Crops, Machinery, Weather

Minogue: Undercurrent of frustration pervades at CropSphere

By Leeann Minogue January 16, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Just months after a record-setting harvest, delegates nodded as market analyst Larry Webber told Saskatchewan farmers at CropSphere in Saskatoon, “Everything is not rosy in the country.” Frustration is building as many farmers are taking large price discounts to sell their grain into a congested transportation system and other farmers are unable to sell their […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Potato growers get herbicide against broadleaf, grassy weeds

January 13, 2014

Reading Time: 2 minutes Potato growers this spring will get a new chemical tool against certain broadleaf weeds and annual grasses, particularly herbicide-resistant types. BASF Canada on Friday announced it’s picked up regulatory approval for Outlook, a dimethenamid-P (group 15) herbicide to be applied on potato crops as a pre-emergent — that is, after potatoes are planted and before […] Read more

Daily Network News

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