This has happened before, and it will happen again. But the worrisome situation with Canadian canola exports to China might get worse before it gets better. That was the prevailing mood of exporters, canola industry leaders and farmer representatives at the Canadian Crops Convention in Montreal this week, as the industry grappled with news about […] Read more
Tag Archives Blog — page 2
Canola industry hunkers down to hear if the next Chinese shoe drops
Canadian canola trade with China is not new to disruptions
Canola is big news – not in the way growers would hope
Canadian canola made it into the national news as the Canadian Crops Convention got underway in Montreal Tuesday, but it wasn’t for reasons anybody growing or selling Canadian canola would have wanted. News that China appears to have blocked canola imports from Richardson International sent tremors of anxiety through the farmers, processors, exporters and marketers […] Read more
BLOG: Major U.S. farm conference focuses on China
ORLANDO, Fla. — China is top-of-mind for all the farm groups attending the 2019 Commodity Classic. Davie Stephens, president of the American Soybean Association, said there is no question that the U.S. is going to suffer permanent losses in the Chinese market. He noted that the market wasn’t built overnight. It took decades to develop. […] Read more
BLOG: Getting into China’s favour is a long row to hoe
The Canada-China dispute is unfortunate, especially if you’re a Canadian farmer. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government took power, strengthening the Chinese-Canadian trade relationship was a priority, demonstrated by many visits to China by high-level officials as well as multiple rounds of face to face free trade agreement exploratory discussions between the countries. In Canada, […] Read more
Is corporate consolidation condemning farmers to crippling servitude?
Agriculture has undergone an incredible consolidation of the companies that farmers rely upon. The global chemical/seed industry has collapsed into four giants; most meat industries are ruled by two or three packers, who often also play in the genetics, feed, production and management fields; Western Canada is utterly dependant upon two railways; two giant regional […] Read more
BLOG: Education not enough to encourage longer canola rotations
Last fall my eight-year-old daughter told me a story. It may be true, or partially true. We were walking to her school and she said the police were outside her school the day before. They entered a house across the road from the school, then brought out a man in handcuffs. Based on playground gossip, […] Read more
Canada torn between two trade bullies with the U.S. and China
Best approach: stay standing and don't cry
Canada is torn between two bullies, feeling like a fool. Dealing with both of them is breaking all our hopes. With our belligerent erstwhile friend to the south having recently finished savaging us in the NAFTA2 negotiations, and China presently raging at us and locking up unlucky Canadians, it’s a very, very, very uncomfortable time […] Read more
To tidewater or bust
Western Canada is suffering from inadequate infrastructure to get commodities to tidewater, but the path to address the shortcoming is unclear. In 2012, then Prime Minister Stephen Harper moved to fast track the approval process for large infrastructure projects in Canada by giving cabinet ministers discretion on the scope of environmental assessments needed for developments. […] Read more
Looking at construction through the gender lens
During the G20 meeting at Buenos Aires, Argentina, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau discussed why it’s important to look through a gender lens when considering large infrastructure projects. “You might not say what does a gender lens have to do with building this new highway or pipeline. Well, there are gender impacts when you bring construction […] Read more
BLOG: Should public scientists talk to the public?
In November of 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a mandate letter to each of his ministers, including Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. In the letter, Trudeau made it clear that the federal government should be open and transparent. “It is time to shine more light on government to ensure it remains focused on the people […] Read more
