Film Captures Waning Heyday Of Chicago Trading

The loud, colourful traders who jostle for deals in Chicago’s famed open-outcry pits now face an even greater threat than the advent of electronic dealing systems – the algorithmic trade, says the director of a new documentary charting the demise of floor trading. More a living funeral than a eulogy, the film “Floored” that debuted

P&H To Replace Ontario Bean Plant

Winnipeg agri-food firm Parrish and Heimbecker is close to putting shovels in the ground to replace its dry bean-processing plant in southwestern Ontario. The privately held company said in a release March 16 it will spend an undisclosed sum to build what it calls a “multimillion-dollar food-grade facility” at Hensall, about 55 km north of


Cargill Beef Plants Install Video Gear For Audits

Cargill’s beef slaughter plants in Alberta and Ontario are among 10 company facilities in North America that have installed video equipment to monitor animal welfare practices. And while the U. S. agri-food giant’s two Canadian beef plants have yet to start using the equipment, the company has also already launched a pilot program in two

Wal-Mart Adopts Sustainability Index

Canada’s Wal-Mart stores will soon adopt the company’s “sustainable product index,” meant to help customers find products made and used in a sustainable way. Wal-Mart Canada’s major suppliers will be asked to answer a 15-question assessment survey to evaluate their sustainability efforts, the company said in a Feb. 10 release. The questions are to cover

Who Sheared The Sheriff?

After 50 years of cutting hair, barber Ken Comba recently found himself applying his shears to the locks of a local “sheriff,” planted in a barber’s chair that was easily 100 years old. Comba, who normally works from home in Killarney as a professional barber, was recruited for an afternoon in January to cut the


Zero-Till Drill Catches On In Sweden

Most Prairie farm equipment manufacturers looking to expand into overseas need partners for distributing their products. For Saskatchewan’s Seedhawk, that partner was Swedish company Vaderstad, which has an established dealer network, and the partnership is proving successful. While eastern Europe was the market Seedhawk and Vaderstad had expected to capitalize on with Seedhawk’s no-till air

Hydro Issues More Route-Planning Permits In ’09

Truckers see warnings posted on bridges about excessive load heights. But nothing warns the farmer transporting tall equipment under dangerous overhead power lines – except their own navigational foresight. That’s why it’s so important to plan ahead, say Manitoba Hydro officials, who say more farmers are planning routes to safely transport farm equipment. There was

National Approach To Traceability Urged

“Right now it’s everybody’s and nobody’s responsibility.” – Ed Tyrchniewicz Anew report for a federal advisory committee strongly urges a coordinated national approach to implementing food traceability in Canada. The report recommends establishing a national institute for research and development in food traceability. It also calls for a Canada-wide value chain approach to sharing the


Railway Gone, But Station Lives On

The grain elevator and the railway are gone, but the railway station, which is now a museum and national historic site, still stands in this farming community 120 years after it was built. With the help of a $9,000 grant from the federal government and the ongoing efforts of the Miami Railway Station Museum Association,

An Old Country Boy Who Still Loves To Sing

The School Bus Driver By Stew Clayton Five hundred thousand miles of dusty country road Winter, summer, rain or snow Picking up my load. I’ve been a school bus driver now for over 30 years and when I make that final run I know I’ll shed a tear. Now some folks don’t like youngsters, they