By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Thursday December 16, 2021

Dec 16, 2021 | 9:44 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – The organization that oversees the St. Lawrence Seaway said general cargo shipments have surged 71 per cent so far, this operating season, helping to offset a weakened grain crop.

The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. said shipments included steel, aluminum and oversized machinery which totalled 3.4 million tonnes between March 22 and Nov. 30, up from just over two million tonnes a year earlier.

Overall, cargo shipments increased 1.7 per cent to 33.3 million tonnes as grain exports shrunk due to smaller harvests. Grain shipments decreased 19.6 per cent to nearly nine million tonnes and dropped to the second largest category.

Excluding grain, overall tonnage was up 13 per cent.

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Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) said it has finalized its acquisition of Kansas City Southern (KSU).

Shares of the U.S. railway have been placed in a voting trust while the Surface Transportation Board reviews the deal.

The trust will allow KSU shareholders to be paid while making sure the railway operates independently until the regulator issues a final decision on the deal. CP Rail expects the U.S. review to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year.

CP Rail said the combined companies will create the only single-line railroad linking the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The deal is valued at $31 billion U.S.

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Potato farmers in Prince Edward Island are looking for places to send their harvests as the province nears the fourth week since Canada banned exports of the Island’s potatoes to the United States.

Randy Visser, the owner of G. Visser and Sons, said potatoes have been sent to food banks to use up some of the excess crop.

Visser said he has about 18 million kilograms of potatoes and would usually be shipping more than 540,000 kilograms a week across the border.

Canada banned all exports of fresh potatoes from the Island to the U.S. after fungal potato wart was found in two fields in the province.

Depending on the length of the ban, some potatoes in storage may need to be destroyed. The process involves putting them through a snowblower during the colder months so that the pieces can freeze and decompose safely on the fields.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW