File photo from CNH-owned FPT Industrial’s Bourbon-Lancy engine manufacturing plant in eastern France. (Photo courtesy CNH Industrial)

CNH to temporarily shut several plants in Europe

Eight-day shutdown due to supply disruptions

Reuters — Italian-American vehicle maker CNH Industrial said Wednesday it will temporarily shut several of its European agricultural, commercial vehicle and powertrain manufacturing facilities due to the disruptions of procurement of components, including semiconductors. The maker of farm machinery, Iveco commercial vehicles, construction equipment and powertrains plans to shut the concerned plants for eight working

A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

White House heeded pressure to reopen Canada border, U.S. lawmaker says

Washington | Reuters — A U.S. congressman from New York said on Wednesday that political pressure had persuaded the White House to end a historic 19-month closure of its land borders with Canada and Mexico to millions of non-essential foreign visitors. Representative Brian Higgins, a Democrat representing a district along the Canadian border, said: “You


(Photo courtesy Port of Los Angeles)

‘Containergeddon’: Supply crisis drives Walmart, rivals to hire own ships

Bulk grain ships pressed into container service

Los Angeles | Reuters — The Flying Buttress once glided across the oceans carrying vital commodities such as grain to all corners of the world. Now it bears a different treasure: Paw Patrol Movie Towers, Batmobile Transformers and Baby Alive Lulu Achoo dolls. The dry bulk cargo ship has been drafted into the service of

Editor’s Take: A closer mirror

A few years back I stumbled across the work of the late Barbara Tuchman, a historian who wrote bestselling books about everything from the events leading to the First World War to the folly of governments pursuing policies that were actually contrary to their own interests. The book that initially captured my interest was A


(Artisteer/iStock/Getty Images)

British milk sours amid labour crisis

London | Reuters — Some British dairy farmers have been forced to destroy tens of thousands of litres of milk due to rising costs, labour shortages and an acute deficit of truck drivers which has strained supply chains to breaking point, farmers said. A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the

Commodity markets set for high volatility, says Louis Dreyfus

Commodity markets set for high volatility, says Louis Dreyfus

Commodity markets face a period of intense volatility as they grapple with the effects of the pandemic, uncertainty over macroeconomic policy and supply chain disruption, the chief executive of Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) said recently. Prices of agricultural commodities have risen sharply, a trend contributing to increased first-half profits reported by LDC, but remain well


Harvest projections are trending lower due to this year's drought conditions.

A silver lining following challenging summer?

BMO report cautiously optimistic about the strength of the industry after hot, dry summer

A new report from BMO Economics sheds some light on the economic impacts of the hot, dry conditions that persisted across North America this summer. The report, issued on September 17, describes how the widespread growing challenges North American farmers faced this summer affected an agricultural sector still trying to make sense of the impacts

A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

Police reopen Ambassador Bridge

Bridge reopened following search for explosives

Updated, Oct. 4 — Toronto | Reuters –– Canadian police reopened a major road bridge between Canada and the U.S. after largely shutting it down for hours on Monday to search for possible explosives in a vehicle, resulting in long delays for truckers at the busiest international crossing in North America. The Canada Border Services


Technology updates on the 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup, due to be released this fall, are expected to include a new version of Super Cruise, a hands-free driving feature for use on “divided and compatible” highways. (Media.gm.ca)

GM says chip situation improving

All of automaker's pickup truck plants operating

Reuters — Top U.S. automaker General Motors said on Friday the semiconductor chip shortage that has hit production at automakers worldwide was abating, while reporting its first quarterly sales fall in a year. “As we look to the fourth quarter, a steady flow of vehicles held at plants will continue to be released to dealers,”

Ken Forth, president of Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services, said the federal government lacked planning by pulling funding to quarantine workers before the end of the growing season.

Effect on Manitoba farms uncertain after feds stop funding TFW quarantine costs

Organizations frustrated with apparently arbitrary cut-off, government going back on its word

Some are frustrated after feds cut funding to help farmers pay for temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to quarantine after arriving in Canada, though Manitoba employers may not know how this affects them until next season. “People found it frustrating because when they initially did this and started the quarantine, their initial statement was that they would support us