The canola industry hopes Canada’s biggest gun can shoot down China’s canola barricade. “One of the things we’re raising is that prime minister (Stephen) Harper will raise this with the Chinese when he’s over there in December,” said Canola Council of Canada president JoAnne Buth. She thinks that’s the best hope for eliminating China’s ban […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
Cash flows into commodities
U.S. crop futures have been caught in a trading range recently, but analysts warn only speculative money is preventing a fall. “It’s fundamentally very weak, but you’ve got all this outside money flowing into it. It’s forcing the shorts (sellers) out,” said Mike Krueger of the Money Farm in Fargo, North Dakota. “I think any […] Read more
Reporter sees revolution, except in marketing – Hedge Row
When I started working at The Western Producer, farmers were still subsidized by the Crow Benefit, the grain handling co-operatives were profitable collections of wooden elevators, a four-section farm seemed big and a 600 sow pig barn was described as a “huge corporate operation.” That’s changed in the 15 years since my first day of […] Read more
Gunning for a resolution in China
Negotiations with Chinese officials have failed to open the door for Canadian canola imports. Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials have packed their bags and left China after discussions with their counterparts resolved nothing and there didn’t seem much point staying on. There are still Canadian embassy officials available to keep the issue alive, but that […] Read more
Friday the 13thy
I’m feeling all Friday the 13thy – a little antsy, a smidge dreadful, a touch anxious. It’s that irrational feeling that hits me on Fridays the 13th regardless of the fact that I, like any reasonable person, doesn’t really believe that calamities are any more likely on Friday the 13th than on any other day. […] Read more
Children follow parents’ footsteps
REABURN, Man. – Nothing seems to sever the roots that attach the Keens to their farm. It isn’t like the four children haven’t seen anything else of the world, but three of them still live on the farm. “I guess it doesn’t seem too bad,” said Martin, who had spent a busy morning weaning 40 […] Read more
China firm on blackleg-free canola
Hopes are dashed for a quick settlement to the Chinese canola ban. The country’s food import regulators are taking a hard line with Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials, says the Canola Council of Canada. “Meetings have been going on and we’re still at zero tolerance,” said canola council president JoAnne Buth. Not only is China […] Read more
Hog experts aim to lower short-haul stress
Packers and truckers have noticed the same weird phenomenon for years: the shorter the drive to the slaughter plant, the more likely a pig will die prematurely. It’s something researchers now understand better since putting heart monitors on pigs and studying their heart rate during loading, transport and unloading. “It makes sense,” said University of […] Read more
Trade disruptions hammer ag exports
First, the United States brought down the boot on Canadian pig and cattle exports with its country-of-origin labelling legislation. Then a string of countries banned Canadian pork because of H1N1. More recently, the European Union strangled Canadian flax exports because of trace amounts of unapproved genetically modified material it had never before bothered about. And […] Read more
Electric prods cause stress, affect meat
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Humane hog producers don’t like using electric prods when loading pigs onto trucks. But they work, and other methods aren’t usually as effective, many producers believe. However, electric prods are probably causing premature pig deaths and meat quality problems, researchers told hog transportation workshops in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. “Some […] Read more
