Health Canada has issued a long-awaited clarification on how it will regulate different forms of plant breeding, including newer gene-editing methods. Genetically modified crops are deemed "novel" under Canada's regulatory framework, requiring an expensive multi-year safety review before being approved for sale, but there was uncertainty about whether gene-edited crops would also be treated as... Read More
Category: Eastern Canada
Canada is standing by its proposed solution regarding dairy tariff-rate quotas under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as U.S. dairy groups continue to pressure the White House to escalate the matter. Earlier this week, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said Canada's changes didn't go far enough, and the proposed solution was a disappointment. Jim Wiesemeyer... Read More
Weather is the one subject we just can't help but talk about. As I sit here in southern Alberta and look out at the rain drops — albeit, not large amounts of it, but hey it's rain — finally pitter-pattering against the window, I'm thinking about rainy-day traditions. On our farm, since we do live... Read More
It's been a wild week in the wheat markets, with lots of trading action and news stories driving the markets. Chaos, says Jon Driedger of Leftfield Commodities Research, is one way to describe it — starting off with last week's United States Department of Agriculture report. "That was a friendly report for wheat. We go... Read More
Bill C-234 took a step forward on Wednesday, as the House of Commons voted in favour of it at second reading, sending it to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food for review. The private member's bill brought forward by Conservative MP Ben Lobb would amend the federal government’s carbon pricing legislation to provide an... Read More
It's mid-May, but you almost wouldn't know it by looking at seeding progress in Manitoba and parts of Saskatchewan. Super-dry Alberta and suddenly-warm Ontario bookend the seeding and planting progress and average things out (what does average really tell us, anyway?). On this episode of Wheat Pete's Word, host Peter Johnson brings us up to... Read More
Positioning of the right crop protection products in the right region for the right timeframe is an annual logistics challenge. For the 2022 season, anticipated delivery snags and supply chain pinch points were managed as well as could be expected, but extreme conditions in Western Canada, and persistent manufacturer issues have suppliers and retailers working... Read More
After Canada defended its standpoint on dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), the U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, has released a statement further articulating the country's "disappointment" with Canada's unwillingness to make further changes to the TRQs. "The United States is deeply disappointed by Canada’s announcement today regarding its dairy tariff-rate quotas," says Tai. "Our top priority... Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs has tapped Colin Elgie as the province's new soil fertility specialist. Elgie fills a gap created in the OMAFRA soil management team in 2019 with the retirement of long-time OMAFRA soil management specialist Adam Hayes. Jake Munroe, who formerly handled the soil fertility duties, moved into... Read More
Syngenta Canada has announced it will sell Envita in Canada for the 2023 growing season. Envita is a nitrogen-fixing bacteria product for non-legume crops, including corn, canola, cereals, soybeans and potatoes. The liquid product, developed by Azotic Technologies, is applied in-furrow or as a foliar treatment, and performs similarly to n-fixing bacteria with legume and... Read More