The World Trade Organization has once again sided with Canada and Mexico, as the WTO Appellate Body published a fourth and final ruling on U.S. country of origin labeling rules today. The appeal panel decision affirmed earlier rulings saying COOL illegally discriminates against foreign livestock (read the report and findings here). “The United States has... Read More
Category: Western Canada
This week, I had the distinct pleasure of joining a small group of range enthusiasts for a ranch tour in central Alberta. I wasn't sure what to expect, besides a scorching sun and gale-force winds. But the afternoon ended up being so much more than an excuse to step away from my laptop. It was... Read More
Did you know that cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and green beans can grow more than eight feet in the air? And that, for a greenhouse, a power outage is much more dangerous in the summer than the winter? That's because a missed automatic watering in the summer is far more detrimental to greenhouse plants than a... Read More
What a week! Seeding continues in Canada and the United States well ahead of schedule, creating bearish implications. That being said, freezing temperatures are in the forecast for a few areas and so the percentage complete could be lower than what officials are predicting. The lower U.S. dollar has also provided support to all commodity... Read More
Another gene that has provided resistance to crown rust in oat varieties grown in Western Canada is losing its effectiveness. The Pc91 gene was a source of resistance to crown rust in some of common varieties in recent years, including Souris, Stainless, HiFi, AAC Justice and CDC Morrison, but changes in the crown rust pathogen... Read More
Research is supposed to give decision makers information from which they can make sound policy. Without research-based information, what evidence would decisions be based on? Hearsay? Emotions? Gut feel? Some intuition must be part of any decision, sure, but at the core, at least when it comes to public policy, there must be something more... Read More
In the last couple of weeks, there have been many impassioned pleas from producers asking consumers to avoid McDonald's for no reason other than an alleged change of source for their 100% Canadian beef patties. The pleas suggest the company will be moving to products sourced from South America, not now, but in the near... Read More
#Plant15 continues at a rapid pace, and it will now include some sugar beet acres in southern Alberta, as growers have settled their contract dispute with Rogers Sugar. The Canadian livestock industry is also awaiting the final ruling from the WTO in the dispute over U.S. country of origin labeling. There’s plenty more on these... Read More
Southern Manitoba has the right combination of soybean production and soybean meal demand to support a 2,000 tonne per day soybean crushing facility, according to a new report funded by the Canada and Manitoba governments and soybean industry partners. Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers partnered with Soy 20/20 to organize and co-fund the study, which... Read More
A fourth and final decision from the World Trade Organization on U.S. mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules will be announced in the next few days. The WTO has said its decision on the Americans' latest appeal to maintain COOL will be shared with members no later than May 18th. Another ruling in Canada... Read More