We often hear of the importance of trade, with headlines updating us on international trade deals. But, that's only the tip of the iceberg. With each trade deal there are opportunities and risks, and it's up to individual businesses, including farms, to assess how they could be impacted. "We're a trading country and our agri-food... Read More
Category: Western Canada
After going nearly 500 days without any new cases, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) has been found on three Manitoba hog farms in a span of 10 days. On Saturday, the province's chief veterinary officer confirmed the third case in a sow barn in the southeast region of the province. It follows positive PEDv samples... Read More
When University of Guelph agricultural economist Alfons Weersink told me he was tackling the question “Who is a farmer?”, I immediately thought of the late Paul Harvey. He’s the broadcaster whose 1978 Americana classic, “So God Made A Farmer,” was brilliantly revived in a 2013 Super Bowl ad for Dodge trucks. In it, Harvey praised... Read More
Herbicides are one tool for managing cleavers in canola, but there are many other "small hammers" in the toolbox as well. Seeding rates, row spacing, control timing, and crop rotation all need to be considered, explains Ian Epp, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, in this episode of Canola School. "We can add... Read More
Wearing blue t-shirts that read "Canadian milk matters," dairy farmers from across Ontario and Quebec rallied on Parliament Hill on Thursday. The event was organized to show support for supply management and to bring attention to a basket of import-related concerns, explains Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) president Wally Smith, in the interview below. "We... Read More
On Wednesday, McDonald's announced the completion of its Verified Sustainable Beef (VSB) Pilot, and handed the results — and recommendations — to the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB). "It's a really exciting day to talk about the accomplishment over the last year and a half that McDonald's has been doing the pilot project here... Read More
Soybeans. Who cares about anything else? The oilseed has taken the majority of the grains complex with it to heights that most analysts didn't think were possible a few months ago. Sure, you lose a couple million tonnes in Argentina, but with bigger crops in Brazil and North America, and demand climbing a bit, there’s... Read More
Viterra held a grand opening for its new grain terminal near Grimshaw, in the Peace River region in northwest Alberta on Wednesday. The facility features 30,000 tonnes of grain storage and 104 railcar loading capacity. It is the company's second new build in the region in recent years, following construction of a new terminal at... Read More
"We did it! We did it," exclaimed Francesca Debiase, chief supply chain and sustainability officer for McDonald's, pumping her hands through the air, at yesterday's celebration of the conclusion of McDonald's Verified Sustainable Beef (VSB) Pilot in Calgary. “Several years ago, McDonald’s supply chain made a really interesting discovery," Debiase explained, "and that discovery was... Read More
Canadians' views on farming are improving, according to new survey results shared this week. There are some problem areas though, as we hear from the head of Farm and Food Care Canada on this week's podcast. Health Canada is considering allowing irradiation of beef to kill bad bacteria, dairy farmers are back rallying on Parliament... Read More