Canada's ambassador to the United States is rejecting President Donald Trump's assertion that Canadian dairy policies are to blame for challenges faced by U.S. dairy producers. The dispute over dairy trade policy has gained mainstream media attention after Trump accused Canada during a stop in Wisconsin on Tuesday of "a typical one-sided deal against the... Read More
Category: Western Canada
Contrary to what some headlines and marketing campaigns would lead us to believe, honey bee numbers in Canada are at record highs and trending higher. At the end of 2016, there were a record 750 thousand colonies in the country, according to Statistics Canada. "The state of the bee industry is quite strong right now,"... Read More
The Canola Council of Canada has chosen its next president. Jim Everson, currently the executive director of Soy Canada, has been hired to lead the canola industry organization. “Jim is a respected leader who brings significant industry vision, as well as understanding of the domestic and global issues and opportunities we face,” said David Dzisiak,... Read More
88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes every year in the United States. Nobody has ever died because an ingredient in the food or drink they consumed was genetically modified. Call it ironic, distracting, or deceptive, marketers are all too aware we have a skewed perception of risk, especially when it comes to the stuff we... Read More
If there's one thing expanding farming in Northern Ontario will require, it's money. Financial backing. Bankrolling. Investment. Whatever name you give it, securing land is only a part of the cost of starting farming — new land must be cleared, cleaned up, and tiled if it's to be improved to at least a Class 3.... Read More
Wet conditions prevented normal fall fertilizer application in parts of Western Canada last fall, leaving growers looking at options for delivering nitrogen to this year's crop. As Don Flaten, soil scientist at the University of Manitoba, explains in this episode of Canola School, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Growers will have to consider their limiting factors... Read More
Grain markets headed into the Easter holiday weekend on a bit more volatility, helping most futures stay in the green. Oats were the big winner, rebounding up 4.15% since last Friday, closely followed by 3.5% and 3.15% by soymeal and corn respectively. The U.S. dollar was the big loser of the week, down 0.6%, which... Read More
Globally, the big question in food production – the one that reverberates in any discussion about the future – is who will feed the increasingly hungry world, and how. Most of the focus is on Africa, and the growing population there. So the question goes: Who will feed Africa? Well, after spending two weeks with... Read More
We're racing towards planting season, with field activity about to begin rocking and rolling, Lessons from the new world wheat yield record, the value of soil and subsequent impact of erosion, cover crop management, corn planter down pressure, and more — it's all in this week's edition of the Word the RealAg agronomist Peter Johnson.... Read More
The Alberta government has tabled legislation to once again give producer groups the option of making their check-offs non-refundable. Before 2009, the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act gave commissions the option of refundable or non-refundable service charges. Provincial beef, pork, lamb and potato commissions collected non-refundable check-offs until 2009, when the Ed Stelmach government changed... Read More