Signage on Viterra’s office building in Regina. (Dave Bedard photo)

GSU accepts Viterra offer

Wages see a slight improvement but union says they hope to build on it in next contract

Members of the Grain and General Services Union who work for Viterra have voted to accept the company's latest contract offer.


Farmers protesting in Toulouse, France, on January 16, 2024, with tractors bearing placards that read ‘Macron still an effort, soon all farmers will be dead’. Photo by Alain Pitton/NurPhoto via Reuters

France could face nationwide farmer protests as anger mounts

Farmers cite fuel taxes, excessive restrictions and red tape among grievances

France's largest farm union FNSEA is considering nationwide protests in the coming weeks, a spokesperson said on Friday, potentially expanding action by farmers in the southwest who have blocked a highway and dumped manure on public buildings.

A man is seen outside the house damaged by Russian shelling, Odesa Region, southern Ukraine. (Photo by Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/Sipa USA)

What is war fatigue?

If the West is 'tired' of the war in Ukraine, consider the reality of Ukrainians

As we approached the end of December, my mood, like that of most Ukrainians, was not at all Christmassy. The heroic achievement of 2022, when our lives hung in the balance and our defenders managed to repel the enemy, was replaced by the bloody routine of 2023.


Grain is loaded onto ships for export at a port on the Parana River near Rosario, Argentina on Jan. 31, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci)

Bulk ocean freight rates fall from highs despite uncertainty

Container rates have climbed higher as Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have caused diversions

The Baltic Dry Index (BDI), a major indicator of bulk shipping rates, has dropped sharply over the past month after hitting 18-month highs in early December. Meanwhile, container rates have climbed higher over the same period as attacks by Houthi militants in the Red Sea have caused many shipping companies to divert their vessels.



Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew (seated) and Manitoba agriculture minister Ron Kostyshyn during the Jan. 16, 2024, announcement at Manitoba Ag Days.

Lower premiums, new pilot for veggies ahead for crop insurance

Crop insurance changes were announced at Manitoba Ag Days on Jan. 16

Manitoba producers can expect lower crop insurance premiums on most products, attendees of Ag Minister Ron Kostyshyn’s Manitoba Ag Days address heard Jan. 16. Average premiums for annual crops under AgriInsurance are expected to hit $16.21 per acre in 2024, down from $19.21 in 2023. It’s a good news, bad news scenario for producers. [VIDEO:

Chickpeas. (CalypsoArt/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA confirms larger U.S. lentil/pea/chickpea crops

Edible bean production down slightly with lower seeded area, yield

Final production estimates for the past growing season from the United States Department of Agriculture confirmed larger lentil, dry pea and chickpea crops in the country in 2023/24 compared to the previous year, as yields improved for all three crops. However, edible bean production was down slightly as both yields and seeded area were down for the crop.


 (Photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

Houthi attack on dry bulk ship to boost grain diversions

About twenty per cent of grain shipments diverting around Cape

An attack on a dry bulk carrier this week in the Red Sea region is set to lead to more diversions of grain cargoes around the Cape of Good Hope but most are still willing to risk using the Suez Canal for now, shipping sources said on Tuesday.

Tour attendees examine hemp plots in 2017.
 photos:ALEXIS STOCKFORD

Pushing the crop comfort zone

The winners and losers of WADO's experimental crop trials

Rice in Manitoba was a disaster. In 2012, in the Banana Belt region of the province near Melita, the staff at the Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization (WADO) seeded a plot of dry rice to see if they could bring it to harvest. The project fit with their role in Manitoba’s agricultural sphere: They risk the wreck, so