More than 600 grain terminal workers at a half dozen facilities in the port of Vancouver hit the bricks earlier today, creating more headaches for prairie farmers. This walkout comes only a month after both major railways were hit by a strike-lockout for four days, until the dispute was sent to binding arbitration. Wages appears to be the number one issue in this dispute. The strike is affecting operations at the port for companies like Viterra, Richardson, Cargill, G-3 and Alliance, and it couldn’t come at a worse time, as prairies farmers are getting close to wrapping up the harvest. Wade Sobkowich is with the Western Grain Elevator Association and shares the timing is terrible for the industry. “Harvest is just over and, not only that, we’re trying to get these canola vessels out before we have what we expect to be either a tariff or a ban on canola coming out of Canada into China. We’re not sure what the timeline is going to be, it hasn’t been decided yet. The union knows that an
The International Grains Council has raised its 2024-25 world soybean production estimate to a new record high this month. In its monthly Grain Market Report on Thursday, the IGC pegged global soy output at 421 million tonnes, up 2 million from the agency’s September estimate and 7% above the previous year’s 395 million. The increase in the global production number reflects larger crops in South America, including Brazil. The 2024-25 Brazilian crop is now seen at 152.5 million tonnes, up from 151 million last month, although still below the 2023-24 crop of 158 million. The Paraguay crop was also revised higher, up 300,000 tonnes from September to 10.5 million and above 10.2 million a year earlier. Argentina’s crop was left steady at 51.5 million, still up sharply from the previous year’s drought-hit harvest of just 25 million. World soybean ending stocks are higher this month as well, up 4 million tonnes to 86 million – a major 15-million tonne increase from 2023-24. As for whe
Limited rainfall this past allowed the Saskatchewan harvest to mostly wrap up for the year. The weekly crop report Thursday pegged the provincial harvest at 99% complete as of Monday, up a couple of points from a week earlier. Last year at this time, the harvest was basically at the same stage, with 98% of the crop off. Only a few types of crops remain in the field, including oats, canola, flax, and soybeans. Oats are 99% harvested, and the remainder of that crop should be off in the next week. For oilseed crops, both canola and flax are 98% harvested. Soybeans remain the furthest behind at 90% complete, but the remaining 10% is ready to be combined. Producers in the southeast, southwest and west-central regions have finished harvest, the report said. Nearly all producers in the northeast region have completed harvest as progress sits at 99%. Finally, harvest is close to wrapping up in the east-central and northwest regions at 98% done. The province had very limited rainfall l
According to a news release from the American Equipment Distributors (AED), Craig Drury, vice president of operations at Vermeer Canada, and Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) 2021 chairman, testified on behalf of the association before the Senate of Canada’s Banking, Commerce and the Economy Committee during an Oct. 9 hearing on Bill C-244, an Act to amend the Copyright Act (diagnosis, maintenance and repair).
While equipment dealers, farmers and residents in the southeast begin the recovery process from damages from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, farming stakeholders in the High Plains are dealing with a completely different challenge.
