With the Canadian trade team agreeing to the Trans Pacific Partnership, there will be opportunities for the opposing parties to bring up issues with the deal. You can expect both the NDP and the Conservatives to use the TPP agreement as political leverage. The Conservatives, who were previously very critical of the Liberals for not... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Scott Moe has replaced Brad Wall as the leader of the Saskatchewan Party, becoming the Premier-designate of Saskatchewan. Moe received 8,075 votes or 53.7 percent of the total votes cast, surpassing runner-up and former deputy ag minister Alanna Koch by 1,161 votes, in the fifth and final round of voting at the party's leadership convention... Read More
With adequate supplies of most crops, the grain and oilseed market is not giving Western Canadian farmers a strong signal to plant more of any major crop in 2018. At the same time, India's tariffs on pulse crops have producers looking for alternatives to peas and lentils for some acres. From a strictly marketing standpoint,... Read More
Oat futures have climbed more than 30 cents a bushel since the start of the new year, raising the question: will more acres switch from wheat to oats? As of Wednesday, nearby and new crop oat futures in Chicago were in the 42 to 45 percent range relative to Minneapolis wheat. The flatter, quieter spot... Read More
The Canadian organic production industry received confirmation today that the federal government will provide financial support for updating organic standards. Today in Guelph federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay annouced the Government of Canada's commitment to provide the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) the "necessary funds to cover costs associated with the 2020 Canadian Organic Standards... Read More
In a winter where most crop markets don't appear to be trying to buy more acres, mustard prices have been an exception. "For farmers looking for profitable opportunities, mustard is sticking out like a sore thumb right now," says Chuck Penner of LeftField Commodity Research in the video below, filmed at CropSphere in Saskatoon earlier... Read More
Eight farmers, 10 ingredients, one plate — that's the premise behind Before the Plate, a coming documentary looking to connect everyday people in a transparent, open-barn-door way with the food they eat. Before the Plate follows John Horne, head chef of the downtown Toronto restaurant Canoe, on a journey sourcing 10 ingredients featured at his... Read More
Interested in growing camelina for Three Farmers? Get ready to intercrop. Three Farmers, a Saskatchewan-based snack food company, is offering, for the first time, production contracts for camelina, an oilseed crop. A stipulation of the contract is that camelina be grown in tandem with either pea or lentil. Likely the first-of-its-kind stipulation in a crop... Read More
Tim May says he's "just a farmer down the road." But the Rockwood, ON dairy farmer — better known as 'Farmer Tim' in the social media world — and his 43 cows are certainly punching above their weight in the fight to help consumers understand what really happens on the farm these days. Three years... Read More
Throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiating rounds, groups like the United States Dairy Export Council have been lobbying for increased market access into Canada. The Americans are looking for the same kind of access that they enjoy with Mexico. This week we saw the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership... Read More