DES MOINES, Iowa — The irony is hard to ignore. Rural Americans strongly supported Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, partly because of his hard-line stance on immigrants and threats to build a wall at the Mexican border. Meanwhile, farmers and businesspeople in rural America rely heavily on immigrant labour. In fact, many farms […] Read more
News
Is foot-and-mouth lurking in imported feed?
North America’s livestock industry hasn’t had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease for decades. The last outbreak in the United States was almost 90 years ago, and it hasn’t been seen in Canada since 1952. However, there are worst-case scenarios in which it could re-appear in Canada or the U.S. One possible scenario is where a […] Read more
CGC surplus spending decision a long way off
Canadian grain growers have offered plenty of ideas on what the Canadian Grain Commission should do with an operating surplus valued at $107 million as of last September, whether it be buying new grain cars, spending it on plant breeding, overhauling the grain grading system or giving it back to farmers. However, a final decision […] Read more
Trade spat erupts over EU cheese import quota
Canada’s dairy farmers and processors would not comment last week on reports of a spat brewing over cheese allocations under the incoming trade agreement with the European Union. Most measures under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement are expected to take effect July 1. The agreement will allow an additional 16,000 tonnes of high-quality cheese […] Read more
Syngenta puts canola hybrids up for sale
The company, which is being bought by China National Chemical Corp., is said to have put in a bid for Bayer’s LibertyLink assets
Syngenta is leaving the canola business but could soon be coming back in a big way. “We made a decision to exit the canola seed market,” said Chris Davison, head of corporate affairs Canada for Syngenta. “That is a business decision based on consideration of a number of factors related to the current canola seed […] Read moreAl-Katib wins
Murad Al-Katib, head of AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., has won the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year award. Al-Katib, a dominant figure in Canada’s pulse industry, competed against candidates from among 49 nations vying for the title. He has built AGT Food and Ingredients, headquartered in Regina, into an international company buying, selling and […] Read more
Proposed GM mustard unlikely to hurt Canada
Pressure is mounting on the Indian government to approve the country’s first genetically modified food crop. India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences has asked the country’s prime minister to intervene in the regulatory process so that farmers can grow a GM mustard variety in time for the 2017 rabi (winter) crop. The academy, which comprises […] Read more
Canola’s competitive threat is here
It’s on. After years of regulatory delays, developers of high oleic soybeans are finally in a position to take back market share lost to high oleic canola. After a lengthy review process, China has approved Monsanto’s Vistive Gold soybeans, paving the way for full-scale commercial introduction of the product in 2018. It will be competing […] Read more
Ontario farmers focus on improving soil health
GLENCOE, Ont. — A group of Ontario farm organizations is encouraging soil-building practices and hopes to spread the word about the benefits. Launched in March, the Ontario Soil Network program has 25 farmer participants. All have adopted soil-building practices and have expressed interest in developing leadership and communication soils. “Farmers have always learned from other […] Read more
Alberta’s carbon tax plan may offer insight for others
Many Alberta farmers say program exemptions mean the new carbon tax isn’t as costly as some feared it would be
There has been much hand wringing in the farm community about carbon taxes but the experience hasn’t been too bad so far in the one prairie province that has one. “The hit wasn’t as hard on a lot of producers as we thought it was going to be,” said Lynn Jacobson, president of the Alberta […] Read more
