The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that an activist investor is pressing for a board shakeup at Winnipeg-based Ag Growth International, citing what it calls a severe governance breakdown following a regulatory cease-trade order and the departure of the company's chief executive officer. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post says Plantro Ltd., which holds about 5 per cent of the Canadian grain-handling and farm-equipment maker, has sent two letters to the company's chair urging directors to reconstitute the board before recruiting a new CEO, reduce leverage and work with Plantro to identify new candidates for independent directors. Ag Growth has been under pressure since late last year, when it withdrew financial guidance and delayed results tied to issues in its Brazilian operations, prompting Canadian securities regulators to order management not to trade in the stock. The company released its overdue results in January and the CEO stepped down days later, but Plantro viewed the move as insufficient. "A cease-trade order is an extreme governance failure and should result in the removal of the CEO and immediate board change," Plantro said in a statement Thursday. Ag Growth declined to comment to Bloomberg.