(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC’s top economic charts to monitor in 2024

Downward trends for cattle, swine herds; positive bent to feed, fertilizer affordability

As we start the new year amid elevated inflation and major headwinds facing the economy, here are our top charts to help make sense of the economic environment for farm operations, agribusinesses and food processors.


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

Bunge, Viterra confirm marriage plans

Firms to merge under Bunge banner

The grain handler built out from the foundations of the former Prairie pools is set to be absorbed into one of the world’s biggest grain trading firms in a cash-and-stock deal. After the news leaked out last month, Rotterdam-based Viterra confirmed Tuesday morning it’s “concluded an agreement” to merge into Bunge — the St. Louis-based

J.P. Morgan’s estimate puts the market cap of a combined Bunge and Viterra at around US$25 billion.

Bunge, Viterra merger would create global ag trading giant

Companies have some overlap in Canadian crushing

Reuters — A merger of U.S. grains merchant Bunge Ltd. with rival Viterra would grow the combined entity’s businesses in the U.S., Brazil and Australia and may raise competition concerns in parts of Canada and Argentina, where key oilseed processing assets overlap, analysts said. Sources last week said Bunge and Viterra were in talks for


Louis Dreyfus’ oilseed processing plant at Yorkton, Sask. (LDC.com)

Louis Dreyfus expanding Yorkton canola crush plant

New expansion would more than double plant's capacity

Louis Dreyfus’ Yorkton, Sask. canola crushing plant is about to undergo another major expansion. The project, announced Tuesday, is expected to add an additional canola crushing line and more than double the plant’s annual capacity to over two million tonnes upon completion. Construction is due to begin later this year. The crush plant, built in

A view of Ceres Global Ag’s Northgate, Sask. facility as seen from its fertilizer shed in 2018. (Grainews photo by Lisa Guenther)

Ceres pulls plans for Saskatchewan canola crush plant

U.S. company suspends project citing higher-than-projected costs

U.S. ag commodities firm Ceres Global Ag’s plans for a canola crush plant in southeastern Saskatchewan are now on indefinite hold. Minneapolis-based Ceres said Friday it’s suspending the crush project it announced in May last year and will terminate a related equipment design and supply contract, so as to reduce “project-related contract liabilities.” The proposed


Federated Co-operatives in November 2021 secured an option on this land north of its Co-op Refinery Complex at Regina. (FCL.crs)

Co-op, AGT plan to crush canola at Regina

Crusher would feed FCL's planned renewable diesel plant

Federated Co-operatives’ plans for a renewable diesel processing plant at Regina now also include processing the canola oil needed to supply that plant. Federated Co-op (FCL) on Monday announced a memo of understanding has been signed with Regina grain and pulse crop processor AGT Foods on a joint venture that will “look to construct” a

Richardson International, one of three major oilseed processors, recently announced plans to boost domestic canola crush capacity.

Big jump in Canadian canola-crushing capacity coming

It follows several years of back-to-back record domestic crushing of half the country’s domestic production

Western Canada will soon be able to crush a lot more canola, and Chris Vervaet is confident the seed will be there to do it. “We believe there will be a supply response to this demand pull that we are seeing for canola and canola products,” Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association



China is buying increasing volumes of canola oil and meal from Canada, says Chris Vervaet, executive director of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association.

New record for Canadian canola crushing in 2018-19

TRADE Back-to-back record canola crushing is unlikely to result in increased crushing capacity due to trade uncertainty

China all but stopped importing Canadian canola seed in March, but it’s buying more Canadian canola oil and meal than ever. Meanwhile, Canadian processors crushed a record 9.295 million tonnes of canola seed during the 2018-19 crop year, ending July 31, Statistics Canada figures show. That’s up 0.3 per cent, or 26,000 tonnes, from the