Canadian National Railway (CN) plans to lock out about 4,800 unionized employees across Canada starting Monday night (Feb. 23) unless their union agrees to arbitration for a new contract. Montreal-based CN’s move follows Thursday’s announcement by Unifor — the union representing CN’s mechanical, intermodal and clerical workers — that it will hold a strike vote
CN set to lock out 4,800 mechanical, clerical staff Monday
Parmalat to shut Quebec mozza plant
The Canadian arm of Italian dairy giant Parmalat plans to close a mozzarella processing plant near Montreal and consolidate its Quebec cheesemaking work at one major facility. Parmalat said Thursday it will close its plant at Marieville, about 40 km east of Montreal, at the end of September. A new production line for mozzarella will
CFIA shrinks restricted zone in B.C. avian flu outbreak
Quarantines ending on poultry and egg farms in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have allowed federal officials to slightly pull back their zone coverage against the spread of avian flu. As of last Thursday (Feb. 12), federal quarantines are lifted on five of the 11 commercial broiler, turkey and egg farms that were confirmed in December to be
Small farms maintain crop diversity
Rather than preserving ‘heirloom’ varieties, they participate in an ongoing process of outcrossing
As much as 75 per cent of global seed diversity in staple food crops is held and actively used by a wide range of smallholder farms, many of which are close to urban areas, says a geographer from Penn State University. Karl Zimmerer and his colleagues looked at new census data from 11 countries in
Repair, inspection staff at CN prep for strike vote
Locomotive and rail car maintenance, repair and inspection staff at Canadian National Railway (CN) plan to take a strike vote early next week, their union said Thursday. Unifor, the largest union at CN with over 4,800 members, said Thursday it will hold the vote over a period of up to three weeks, and would set
Double-cropping project aims to cut Indian lentil imports
Researchers on a project in India and Bangladesh say they hope it will greatly reduce their lentil imports. Farmers in the project are growing lentils in fields left fallow after rice harvests, with the help of a research and training project by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). In a
Cow-calf producers asked to take survey
The Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) is asking every cow-calf producer in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to complete the Western Canadian Cow-Calf survey. The deadline to complete the survey is Feb. 28. It can be filled out online but the website also provides an option to print the survey and mail it postage-free. First
U.S. buyer completes takeover of ag chem firm Arysta
U.S. industrial chemical producer Platform Specialty Products Corp. has sealed its deal to buy ag chemical firm Arysta LifeScience for about US$3.5 billion (C$4.35 billion). Miami-based, publicly-traded PSPC, which in the past year has bought ag chem firms Agriphar Group and Chemtura AgroSolutions, announced its plans to buy the Dublin-based multinational Arysta business last fall.
U.S. ‘intransigence’ continues in WTO COOL hearing: officials
The U.S. government’s defense of its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) rule still shows “blatant protectionism and intransigence” according to Canadian officials at what’s expected to be the law’s last appearance before the World Trade Organization (WTO). U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials appeared Tuesday in Geneva before the WTO Appellate Body, where the U.S. hopes to overturn
Ag equipment maker Buhler cutting production, staff
Winnipeg farm equipment manufacturer Buhler Industries is reducing its workforce and paring back production ahead of an expected drop in farm incomes. The company, whose brands include Versatile tractors and Farm King implements, announced its first-quarter financials Friday for the period ending Dec. 31, booking net profit of $1.5 million on fourth-best quarterly revenue of
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