Global temperatures are projected to rise by as much as 3.2 C by 2100. Investments in fossil fuels continue to be higher than investments in climate activities. And COVID-19 may result in a six percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions for 2020. These are a few of the messages contained in 4-H Canada’s new Dig […] Read more
Brian Cross
Stories by Brian Cross
Canadians put on pounds during pandemic
Fifty-eight percent of the public acknowledged in an April survey that their weight has changed since COVID-19 began
COVID-wary Canadians have been making more trips to the refrigerator as they look for ways to cope with pandemic-induced stress, says a new report from the University of Dalhousie. According to a recent study conducted by Dalhousie’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, 58 percent of Canadians who participated in an April 2021 survey acknowledged that their weight […] Read more
Soaring price tag for lumber confirmed
Canada’s national statistics agency has released new data on construction costs and the price of building materials in Canada — and to no one’s surprise, the data shows a steep year-over-year increase in lumber prices. According to Statistics Canada, softwood lumber prices rose by an astounding 118.9 percent in Canada between March 31, 2020, and […] Read more
Sequencing project targets barley
Plant scientists and genomics experts in Canada have sequenced and assembled the first reference genome for a Canadian malting barley variety. The genome for AAC Synergy barley was made public earlier this year in a project led by Agriculture Canada. AAC Synergy was developed by Agriculture Canada barley breeder Bill Legge and was registered in […] Read more
Plant-based protein booms
Canadian grocery buyers continue to gravitate toward processed vegetable protein products as the prices for “alternative meat” and “alternative dairy” products become more accessible relative to steak, chicken, pork and dairy. Sylvain Charlebois, a prominent food scientist and director of Dalhouise University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab, said the value of Canada’s vegetable protein market continues to […] Read more
Brisk exports cut into grain, oilseed stocks
The amount of Canadian canola delivered to export terminals at the Port of Vancouver averaged almost 170,000 tonnes a week in April, easily surpassing the pace of deliveries in April 2020. According to data from the Canadian Grain Commission, nearly 675,000 tonnes of canola were delivered to Vancouver export facilities in the four-week period ending […] Read more
U of A signs wheat deal with farm groups
The University of Alberta has signed a new core funding agreement with the Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC), which represents provincial wheat commissions in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Under the new deal announced May 3, the U of A wheat breeding program headed by Dean Spaner will receive core funding worth $2 million over about […] Read more
More canola planned this spring
Canadian canola plantings will increase by about 3.5 percent this spring to their highest level in three years, according to estimates from Statistics Canada. But the increase will be lower than what many industry analysts had expected, given near-record oilseed prices, low North American oilseed inventories and steady global demand. According to Statistics Canada’s annual […] Read more
StatsCan data confirms stratospheric increase in lumber costs
Canada’s national statistics agency has released new data on construction costs and the price of building materials in Canada — and to no one’s surprise, the data shows a steep year-over-year increase in lumber prices. According to Statistics Canada, softwood lumber prices rose by an astounding 118.9 percent in Canada between March 31, 2020, and […] Read more
CN makes counter bid for American railway
Canadian National Railway’s offer for Kansas City Southern Railway follows an earlier bid by Canadian Pacific Railway
Canada’s largest railway company has upped the ante in a high-stakes bid to acquire Missouri-based Kansas City Southern Railway. Last week, Canadian National Railway announced that it had submitted an unsolicited rival bid to acquire KSC in a cash and stock deal valued at US$33.7 billion. CN’s announcement comes about a month after CN’s main […] Read more
