After a 41-day strike, workers at the Cargill Dunlop beef processing plant in Guelph will return to work Monday. 960 unionized employees at Cargill Dunlop in Guelph ratified a new collective agreement on Saturday July 6. The workers, represented by Local 175 of the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW), began strike action after turning […] Read more
News
Weather helps gophers get ahead of producers
A cool, wet spring and delayed crop development are blamed for the damage that prairie producers are seeing this year
REGINA — The cool, wet spring may have given producers a false sense of security when it came to Richardson’s ground squirrels. They’ve since become the talk of the town, said James Tansey, Saskatchewan’s insect and vertebrate pest management specialist. Some producers have had to reseed canola after significant damage, including Scott Anderson, who farms […] Read moreValue-added ag receives federal funding
The federal government has pledged more than $21 million to Alberta’s value-added sector for product and service development and commercialization. “Today’s investments will help Alberta organizations and companies make even more advancements in the field of value-added agriculture, helping to further diversify our economy while creating sustainable jobs in our communities,” said Calgary Skyview MP […] Read more
Grain movement looks good but faces challenges
Lower crop prices slowed deliveries at the beginning of the 2023-24 year, while railways struggled with labour issues
SASKATOON — Grain movement has been on track this crop year despite some challenges, but it hasn’t been as good as last year, according to Canada’s grain monitor. “There has been so much stuff that has happened this year that has confounded the movement,” said Quorum Corp. president Mark Hemmes. The first challenge was the […] Read more
Ag ministers take their concerns to Whitehorse
PMRA, country-of-origin labelling and rail strike priorities as federal, provincial and territorial ministers meet July 17-19
REGINA — Canada’s agriculture ministers meet next week in Whitehorse, but it seems unlikely there will be fireworks of the agricultural policy kind. The Whitehorse meeting happens once every 11 years, and the last two have been notable. The first Agriculture Policy Framework was signed there in 2001, launching the then-Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program […] Read more
Biologicals no silver bullet
WINNIPEG — Biological products have been touted as replacements for synthetic chemistry and fertilizer in crop production, but that may be a false promise. According to one pitch, if farmers add biological X to the soil, they can cut nitrogen rates by 15 pounds per acre. According to another, biological Y can control a fungus […] Read more
Drought recovery ‘remarkable’
WINNIPEG — The change in drought conditions across the Prairies has been “remarkable,” says an agro-climate specialist with Agriculture Canada. Last October, most of Western Canada was in some form of drought, and a large region of western Saskatchewan and southern Alberta was in an extreme or exceptional drought. As of June 30, the situation […] Read more
Moisture welcome, but some areas receive too much
A western Sask., farmer says a moisture probe in one of his canola fields has indicated saturation every day since June 2
REGINA — The 2024 growing season for many Prairie farmers is characterized by the old saying, it never rains but it pours. Most of Manitoba has received far beyond 100 per cent of normal rainfall, leading to unseeded acres and flooded crops. Saskatchewan’s most recent crop report highlighted crop flooding in low lying areas and […] Read more
Russia expected to ship fewer peas
The export situation will mainly depend on how the country’s crop fares this year, which has been hurting in the south
SASKATOON — Traders agree that Russia’s pea exports will be down this year, but they differ widely on the magnitude of the drop. Tareq Awad, a trader with Fruitimpex, is forecasting another good crop exceeding four million tonnes of production. He told delegates attending a recent Global Pulses Confederation webinar that he anticipates 2.5 million […] Read more
Anti-deforestation law’s impact on canola remains uncertain
The European Union legislation could change trade flows, but it is hard to predict the overall effect on canola demand
SASKATOON — It is unclear what impact the European Union’s looming anti-deforestation regulation will have on canola demand, says an industry official. The EU’s Regulation on Deforestation-free Products entered into force June 29, 2023. It stipulates that any business or trader who markets commodities such as cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber and […] Read more
