Around the globe, agriculture and food systems produce about 2,850 calories per person per day. That’s enough to feed the world explains University of Guelph professor Evan Fraser, but unfortunately we still have 800 million people who are undernourished. Even more perplexing is the fact that we have 2 billion people who struggle with being... Read More
Category: Western Canada
The Canadian Grain Commission has come out with a plan to cut its user fees by 24 percent as of August 1, 2017. In the April 22nd edition of Canada Gazette, the CGC proposed reducing the amount charged for its official inspection and weighing services by $0.44 per tonne or just under $10 million (from... Read More
Five years after the end of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly, a group of farmers that fought to keep the CWB's single desk is back in court seeking a new class action lawsuit. Andrew Dennis, a farmer from Brookdale, Man., has filed a Statement of Claim with the Court of Queen’s Bench in Winnipeg for... Read More
Another late snowfall is making a tough situation worse, especially in central and northern parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Much of Western Canada has received a fresh layer of snow in the last day or two, just as fields in some areas were starting to dry up after snow and rain during the Easter weekend.... Read More
Peter Johnson wishes farmers managed wheat more like corn. He admits that corn’s bigger yields and higher profitability creates more interest in intensively managing the crop, but that does not excuse growers from making good, basic wheat management decisions. One thing that drives Real Agriculture’s resident agronomist crazy is wheat growers who seed based on... Read More
Since the election of Donald Trump, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been under threat. Initially, the harsh words of walls, import tariffs, and immigration reform were directed squarely at Mexico. That all changed this week when president Trump "laid down the law" in an effort to make Canada quiver insecurely in its... Read More
Federal funding for 20 research projects that aim to help Canadian farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions was announced on Friday. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was at the University of Alberta in Edmonton to highlight the work that will be done through the $27 million Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP), originally announced last year. "These new... Read More
Grain markets dealt with a sideway 3rd week of April thanks to weather concerns, acreage estimates, and planting progress owning headlines. Canola was the biggest winner for the week, up 1.4%, while conversely, oats was the sorest loser, down 0.8%. Corn and wheat were slightly lower, down 0.35% and 0.2% respectively, whereas soybeans gained 0.4%... Read More
The cattle markets have seen two weeks of strong futures gains, which is bringing smiles to the faces of cattle feeders. With carcass weights lower in Canada and the United States, they're are current and looking to fill empty pens as the cash market rises. The summer of 2016 is still fresh in cattle feeders... Read More
Canadian farmers have found some additional acres to seed this year, according to the Statistics Canada planting intentions report published on Friday. The agency's projections for the three largest acreage crops — wheat, canola and soybeans — were all higher than analysts were expecting. Adding up the individual crop and summer fallow categories, the total... Read More