Canada must respond to the new realities of international trade — where countries ignore the established rules, trade disputes are commonplace and agri-food is targeted for retaliation.
Tag Archives Al Mussell
Buckle up on policy; trade is getting bumpy
Canada needs a Team Canada approach to face a decaying multilateral, rules-based trading environment, similar to how it approached the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations a few years ago. During these negotiations, Canadian officials attempted to mitigate then-President Donald Trump’s unpredictability by meeting with political and business leaders across the United States to explain the benefits of […] Read more
Researchers call for rapid adaptation to global trade environment
REGINA — Canada must prepare for a future featuring a less friendly trade environment, says a new policy note authored by two leading policy analysts. Al Mussell and Ted Bilyea, researchers at Agri-Food Economic Systems Research, said the recent action by China on Canadian canola illustrates their point. They said Canada needs a “rapid pivot” […] Read more
Outlook looks brighter for Canadian hog market
Pork producers have a reason to be optimistic as their feed costs drop and demand from the United States strengthens
Glacier FarmMedia – A decline in feed costs and lower hog supplies should create optimism for hog producers, says Farm Credit Canada. Feed costs as a percentage of revenue are now closer to the historic norm, says FCC senior economist Justin Shepherd. The most recent 2024 data shows feed costs average 63 per cent of […] Read more
China’s food market presents both opportunity and risk
University of Guelph academic takes a look at what history says about managing China’s market potential and politics
China provides risk and reward for Canadian agriculture exporters. With rhetoric escalating around the world, the risk could become a greater challenge. With Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Houthis taking potshots at shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and China increasingly aggressive in the Indo-Pacific, war and near-kinetic levels of conflict have thrown several […] Read more
Feds say cutting emissions still critical for ag
Agriculture Canada acknowledges that a changing climate will result in crop shifts and a need for increased irrigation
The federal government believes farmers and Canada’s agriculture industry should cut greenhouse gas emissions. Al Mussell, an agricultural economist, says Canada’s policy for agriculture should focus on adaptation. The Western Producer submitted questions to an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada spokesperson for a reaction to Mussell’s proposal. Western Producer: Al Mussell, an agricultural economist, published a […] Read more
Growing season grows longer
WINNIPEG — Western Canada is now warmer than it was in the 1950s, and that trend is expected to continue, says a researcher with Environment and Climate Change Canada. Since the late 1940s, the growing season on the Prairies and British Columbia has lengthened by 15 to 30 days. A lot depends on location, but […] Read more
A fork in the road or two-lane highway?
It may feel that we are standing at a fork in the climate change road: do we focus on trying to solve the problem or do we concentrate on figuring out how to live with the new environmental landscape? Mitigation or adaptation? A recent report by Canadian agricultural economist Al Mussell comes down on the […] Read more
Climate change adaptation urged
WINNIPEG — Canadian farmers could benefit from climate change, says an agricultural economist from Ontario. That’s not a popular perspective, since mitigating climate change and reducing emissions from food production have become the main priorities in Canadian agriculture. However, Al Mussell is saying it, out loud. “Being at the northern fringe of viable agriculture globally, […] Read more
Livestock’s missed opportunities
BRANDON — Last year, two globally respected organizations said the world needs more pork, chicken and beef. In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that per capita consumption of calories from animal products would increase 29 percent from 2011 to 2050. Then, in its annual outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said […] Read more
