By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday August 10, 2021

Aug 10, 2021 | 10:03 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — Ritchie Bros. has announced a deal has been reached to acquire Euro Auctions for an estimated $1.08 billion US.

Ritchie Bros. CEO Ann Fandozzi said the two companies are an ideal fit.

“Euro Auctions has an incredibly talented team, with expertise in asset sourcing, auction operations, sales, and customer service,” Fandozzi said in a news release. “Ritchie Bros. ‘can do’ attitude and entrepreneurial spirit combined with technology has helped them adapt and grow, in much the same way as we have.”

Euro Auctions conducts unreserved heavy equipment auctions with onsite and online bidding under the brands Euro Auctions and Yoder & Frey. It has over 200 employees in 14 countries.

In 2020 the company conducted 60 auctions selling close to 90,000 items across its locations in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Germany, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the United States.

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Euro Auctions also sells items through a timed auction format and a daily marketplace with Buy Now and Make Offer options.

Ritchie Bros. will be retaining Euro Auctions employees and its brand.

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The National Farmers Union (NFU) is urging the western conservative premiers in Saskatchewan and Alberta to “do the right thing” to get crucially needed aid to drought-stricken farmers.

NFU vice-president Stewart Wells urged the premiers to accept federal offers to increase coverage within the AgriStability program and make it more widely accessible.

“The lack of moisture has combined with higher-than-average temperatures to put many farmers and ranchers in a desperate situation,” Wells said. “We need to enable more farmers to benefit from these programs and we need to more fully cover the staggering losses caused by heat and drought.”

Wells said the federal government has offered to increase money available through the AgriStability program-raising the compensation rate from 70 per cent to 80.

A key stumbling block for some provinces is contributing their share of federal-provincial funding.

In addition to increased coverage, the federal government is still open to changes to allow late enrollment in the program.

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Nutrien Ltd. said it had record earnings in the second quarter and has raised its full-year outlook as it expects strong crop prices to increase demand for its services.

The Saskatoon-based fertilizer and crop services giant said it earned US$1.1 billion US in the quarter ending Jun. 30, up from $765 million in the same quarter last year.

Post-tax adjusted net earnings were $1.19 billion, or $2.08 per diluted share, compared with $824 billion or $1.45 for the same quarter last year.

Consolidated net sales came in at $9.54 billion, compared with $8.18 billion last year.

Analysts on average had expected adjusted net earnings of $2.09 cents per share and net sales of $9.55 billion, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW