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United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack talks about the improved milk price over the last time he was at World Dairy Expo in 2019.  | John Greig photo

U.S. says agriculture trade opens case by case

U.S. agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack believes his country is making progress as more dairy products move into Canada

The United States still isn’t thrilled about how Canada distributes its dairy market share, but Tom Vilsack, U.S. secretary of agriculture, said progress has been made in sending more U.S. dairy products to Canada. “Last year was a record for exports to Canada of dairy products,” he said during the Global Dairy Summit at the […] Read more

Surrounded by family members and supporters, Donald Trump makes his acceptance speech at his Election Night Watch Party at the Palm Beach County Convention Center after being elected the 47th President of the United States November 5, 2024. Photo: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

 Global commodity markets react to Trump victory

Election results expected to have deep, immediate effects on global economies Commodities from grains, to oil and gas dropped on Wednesday morning as the U.S. dollar rallied and victory for Republican Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election stoked concerns about tariffs and economic growth. Trump recaptured the White House by securing more than the […] Read more

Canada’s Agriculture Day in Ottawa

Canada’s Agriculture Day in Ottawa

Indigenous agricultural entrepreneurs talk about the untapped potential of indigenous communities for agricultural business and food development. This event is filled with university students and other young ag-related folk. Below Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO, meets with a group from the University of Ottawa. The group of students above are from various programs at […] Read more


When China stops growing, what does it stop buying?

China has stopped growing. Did you hear? It’s a potentially world-changing and markets-disrupting development that while not entirely unexpected to happen sometime, certainly was not expected to be happening yet. Basically, China’s population is believed to have fallen slightly, as the lingering impact of its famous “one child” policy continues to sap China’s fertility rate, […] Read more

Industry “resiliency” is a never-given

Everybody hates getting their vehicle stuck and having to call for help. I’m sure the captain of the Ever Given, the gigantic container ship that completely blocked the Suez Canal for a week, was mightily embarrassed having to put out an emergency call to canal officials, tug boat operators and his bosses at the shipping […] Read more


The tectonic plates shift on China, and Canada’s one of the shifting pieces

The tectonic plates shift on China, and Canada’s one of the shifting pieces

But where will the plates end up, and what new mountain ranges and troughs will appear before it's all over?

I keep a globe by my desk. I spin it around to the relevant places whenever I write about global trade and geopolitics. It’s the best low-tech tool I have to get instant perspective on some of the more complex events that affect farmers, agriculture, commodities and our nation. Today I spun it to the […] Read more

Farmers have bigger things than KXL to worry about

Farmers have bigger things to worry about than the generally-expected cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline by the new U.S. Joe Biden administration. Farmers obviously realize the oil industry is not a core part of the agricultural economy, but it provides lots of off-farm jobs to many farm folk, plus the royalties and economic activity […] Read more

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump after signing a joint statement on trade during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City Sept. 25.  |  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst photo

Could Canada run a two-track trade policy?

One track for the rules-following folks and one for the cheats?

We keep hoping this present worldwide binge of protectionism, geo-political bullying and bad-will will fade, subside and JUST GO AWAY! But if it doesn’t, what does Canada do? How do Canadian farmers adapt to that fact? It’s like with climate change: We hope it can be stopped, but if it can’t be, what do we […] Read more


The justification for the total block is that China said it had found a number of fake veterinary health certificates for meat products imported from Canada because of poor supervision, the newspaper said. | File photo

China shows that you can’t count on China – ever

China blocks Canadian pork and beef and proves itself a bad bet for any future relationships

China has now added Canadian pork and beef to its blockade of Canadian agricultural exports, as it continues to bash away at Canada. Canadian farmers will be the biggest losers. It hits them directly. Not only does the physical movement of meat get disrupted, but export prices will be discounted as Canadian product looks to […] Read more

Send Chretien to crack China’s coldness?

It was a nostalgic feeling last week to hear the names “Mulroney” and “Chretien” being batted around in the national news again, connected with each other. The former Prime Ministers weren’t fighting, but rather Brian Mulroney was said to be lobbying present PM Justin Trudeau to dispatch Jean Chretien to China to try to fix […] Read more