A mayfly on water. (SBTheGreenMan/iStock/Getty Images)

Health Canada steps back from bans on two neonics

New limits, some cancellations to be put in place

A federal proposal to protect aquatic insect habitat by cancelling all registered outdoor uses for two popular ag insecticides has been walked back in a major way. Health Canada on Wednesday announced its special review decisions on the risks to aquatic bug life from the use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam, both pesticides and seed treatments

A live Google map from the evening of March 30, 2021 showing vessels currently at Thunder Bay. (Portofthunderbay.com)

Port of Thunder Bay opens for season

MarketsFarm — The 2021 navigation season is officially underway at the Port of Thunder Bay, as the tugboat Sharon M1 and barge Huron Spirit arrived late Friday. The tug-barge combo discharged a calcium chloride brine solution, used as a stabilizer and dust suppressant. The same combo also opened the season 2020, one year ago to


(Shironosov/iStock/Getty Images)

Ag ministers withdraw AgriStability reference margin limit

Program's compensation rate unchanged but 'remains on table'

In a move expected to provide $95 million in additional farm support per year, Canada’s ag ministers have agreed to remove the reference margin limit from the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. “That’s it! The ‘reference margin limit’ of the #AgriStability program is over! And it will be retroactive to 2020!” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude

(Dave Bedard photo)

USDA plans more pandemic programs for disadvantaged farmers

Review found disparities in farm aid distribution

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it will dedicate at least US$6 billion to help smaller-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers who were hurt by the pandemic, along with producers of organic food and other specialty crops. The agency said it would also increase by approximately $5.6 billion payments made


A truck spreads manure onto a field in this file photo.

Province issues variance on nutrient application

Based on soil conditions and weather forecasts, Manitoba Conservation and Climate has issued a variance on winter application of nutrients. Producers could begin applying nutrients as of 12:01 a.m. March 23, 2021. Manitoba Conservation and Climate reminds producers to assess current weather conditions and periodically check weather forecasts when applying nutrients prior to April 11.

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Canadian Pacific to buy Kansas City Southern in bet on trade

Biggest North American rail deal ever valued at US$25 billion

Reuters — Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) agreed on Sunday to acquire Kansas City Southern in a US$25 billion cash-and-stock deal to create the first railway spanning the United States, Mexico and Canada, standing to benefit from a pickup in trade. It would be the largest ever combination of North American railways by transaction value. It


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cargill buying further into Saskatchewan ag retail

Company to take up other half of Precision Ag

Cargill plans to expand its crop retail reach further into southeastern Saskatchewan by buying up the remaining half of one of its joint ventures in the region. The Canadian arm of the U.S. agrifood firm said Thursday it will buy up crop input retailer Precision Ag for an undisclosed sum, taking up the 50 per

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks to media in Winnipeg on Feb. 13, 2020. (Dave Bedard photo)

Yes or no now on AgriStability changes, ag minister says

Farm and commodity groups line up to press provinces for decision

Ottawa’s proposals for changes to the AgriStability farm income stabilization program require a yes or no answer from participating provinces, not more discussion, the federal ag minister said Wednesday. “It has been just over 110 days since we made the offer to the provinces to improve AgriStability,” Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Winnipeg MP Jim


A West Coast Reduction worker inspects a shipment being delivered to their location for export at the Port of Vancouver.

Renewable diesel boom highlights challenges in clean-energy transition

As the industry scrambles to meet new demand, agriculture could benefit

Reuters – For 17 years, trucker Colin Birch has been hitting the highways to collect used cooking oil from restaurants. He works for Vancouver-based renderer West Coast Reduction, which processes the grease into a material to make renewable diesel, a clean-burning road fuel. That job has recently got much harder. Birch is caught between soaring

Grain storage at a Russian seaport. (Pridannikov/iStock/Getty Images)

Baltic Dry Index tops 2,000 points

MarketsFarm — Ocean freight rates have moved steadily higher over the past month, nearing some of their highest levels of the past year. The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of shipping rates, has moved higher most of the past month, settling above 2,000 points for the first time in five months on Tuesday,