The 103-year-old organization that co-ordinates shipments through Canada’s two biggest grain-shipping ports is winding down, saying it may not be needed once the Canadian Wheat Board loses its monopoly. Continue reading →

The world’s biggest wheat seller added Ukraine to the list of the countries which might impose crop export restrictions, but warned against investors betting on spiking wheat prices. Continue reading →

Alex Binkley – The re-opening of South Korea and the Philippines to Canadian beef is the latest bit of good news that’s winning Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz plenty of accolades. There’s no denying he’s logged a lot of air miles trying to improve market access for Canadian farm and food products. Continue reading →

Richardson International, regarded by some as Canada’s answer to Cargill, has unveiled a second expansion in grain terminals in two months, as handlers jockey for position ahead of the market’s deregulation. Continue reading →

The American Meat Institute has joined 85 other small, medium and large enterprises representing a wide segment of the business and agricultural communities engaged in international trade and investment, calling for President Obama to reconsider merging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) with five other agencies responsible for business and trade into one single cabinet-level department. Continue reading →

One industry expert says Nebraska farmers and ranchers who are hoping to see a new Farm Bill come out of Congress this year will likely be disappointed.

Barry Flinchbaugh, an ag economist at Kansas State University, says with the elections in November, he doesn’t expect a lot of work to be done on the Farm Bill until next year. Continue reading →

While the growth of the U.S. and Canada sow herds is relatively flat, pork producers are doing a great job of saving piglets and feeding out pigs efficiently. A Canadian market analyst says that efficiency is a significant story in U.S., North America and European hog production. Continue reading →

Two of the biggest questions hanging over the market today are how much damage has the hot dry weather done to South American production and what will US farmers plant this spring. Continue reading →

Siemens Says –  If it wasn’t for technology, research, people willing to risk all, and of course resources, we’d be a backward people and deprived to say the least.

On Monday and Wednesday of last week, I spent parts of two days having a nuclear stress test. The first day, Monday, the technicians injected a dye into my bloodstream, so the x-ray technician could keep his camera rolling looking at the blood flow of my heart when resting. Continue reading →

This is Jonathan and Tim Elias thought you might get a kick out of this. We walked around AG Days dressed like this and got a few laughs!

Harry Siemens – Jonathon Elias who farms north of Morden, MB, his brother Tim and four relatives and friends took a felt marker to the

Red shirt is Tim Elias age 21 Grey shirt is Jonathan Elias age 32 - Both farm with their father John Elias north of Morden.

backs of their shirts writing, “Thanks Ritz” and took in day two of AG Days in Brandon.

Elias said the idea was to attract attention to and to thank federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz for removing the monopoly and single desk selling system of the Canadian Wheat Board.

“We’ve been waiting for an open market for so long and our dad has been waiting for it so long, too I thought well what is the worst thing that that can happen to us,” he said. “I guess we can get kicked out. I wondered what could happen.”

Elias and the others that joined him for moral and bodily support felt there might still be much resentment from those who oppose the change to the Wheat Board and weren’t quite sure what the reaction would be. Continue reading →