Markets
An Israeli crop-breeding firm is getting close to commercializing a high-protein yellow pea for the Canadian market. “We have lines that are around 30 percent more than you can find in the varieties that are grown now in North America,” said Avichai Amrad, project and partnership manager with Equinom. Those varieties just finished the first […] Read more
Markets
Mexico nixes new GMO corn permit for first time, farm lobby says
MEXICO CITY, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Mexican health safety regulators have rejected a new variety of GMO corn for the first time, the head of the country’s top farm lobby told Reuters, in a sign the government is hardening its position against genetically-modified crops. Mexico, birthplace of modern corn, has never permitted the commercial-scale cultivation […] Read more
New pea plant thrills growers
Ground has been broken on Alberta’s first yellow pea wet fractionation plant. More Than Protein Ingredients Ltd. is building a $100 million facility in Bowden, Alta., that will produce protein, starch, fibre and feedstock molasses from the crop. The plant is expected to be fully operational in the summer or fall of 2023 and will […] Read more
Russian grain market suffers under grain tax
Russia will quickly become a “second-tier player” in the global wheat market if the government keeps its punitive export tax in place, says an analyst. Andrey Sizov, managing director of SovEcon, said exports will contract substantially as the tax eats into farmer and exporter profits. “This season we forecast (exports) at 34.3 million tonnes of […] Read more
What’s in a name? Success for pulses
Pulse Canada is attempting to knock down regulatory barriers that prevent the industry from realizing the full potential of the exploding demand for alternative proteins. Association president Greg Cherewyk told delegates attending the Global Pulse Confederation’s Ask the Experts North America webinar that 27 percent of all meat substitutes in the global packaged food market […] Read more
Pulse producers see new opportunities for pea protein
Demand for pea protein is growing by leaps and bounds but the overall volume consumed is still pretty small. Pea protein is finding its way into milk alternatives, bread, snack bars, yoghurt, meat substitutes, ice cream, cheese, breakfast cereals and other products. “The forecasted volume use of pea protein across all these uses is only […] Read more
Chinese market bounce sends waves through Canadian ag
The looming bankruptcy of a Chinese property developer might not seem to amount to a hill of soybeans, but what happens to Evergrande Group, and all that could follow, might mean a heck of a lot to all Canadian crop and livestock prices. Regardless of low world supplies of many crops, including canola, a bad […] Read more
Governments must take co-ordinated action to fix crisis
It is time for government to help improve co-ordination among parties involved in transporting shipping containers. Help is necessary to clear the shortages and logjams that are starving manufacturers of parts and leaving exporters with no means to export. Sean Pratt of The Western Producer recently reported on the obstacles that lentil exporters face this […] Read more
Drought affects supply of grass-fed beef
Short supplies of grass-grown cattle last year have become even tighter as demand rises and grass doesn’t
The impacts of this year’s drought continue to affect all ranchers but the strain on pastures is having a particular effect on grass-fed beef producers. Duane Vaags was having issues sourcing grass-fed beef for his True North Foods packing plant in Carman, Man., last year. The job hasn’t gotten any easier this year for the […] Read more
High fertilizer prices not going away quickly
Nitrogen fertilizer prices have exploded due to sky-high natural gas prices, says an industry analyst. Fertilizer production facilities across Europe have been particularly hard hit by natural gas prices that soared to US$35 to $40 per MMBtu (Metric Million British thermal unit) this week, due to unusually strong demand for the product. “It’s not that […] Read more
