Former prime minister Stephen Harper says Canadian agriculture is well-positioned for the future, but farmers shouldn’t read too much into current high commodity prices. He said people have to understand that rising inflation is due to government monetary policy as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and inflation is pushing up the price of everything. […] Read more
Tag Archives COVID-19 virus
Vaccination still urged as Sask. prepares to open up
Saskatchewan premier Scott Moe continues to urge residents aged 12 and over to be vaccinated for COVID-19, even as the province prepares to remove all public health restrictions July 11. Masks will no longer be mandatory and the restrictions on how many people can attend events will be lifted. However, with just 71 percent having […] Read more
Pandemic boosted beef consumption
Consumers were at home with more disposable income and willing to spend it on beef, even with the high retail prices
Beef consumption in Canada rose slightly last year and market analyst Anne Wasko says that’s encouraging as the industry works through strong supply. Canadians ate about 18 kilograms of beef per capita in 2020, an increase of .3 percent. Overall, beef demand was 5.5 percent higher than in 2019, she told the recent Saskatchewan Stock […] Read more
Ag minister says sector will lead economy out of decline
Saskatchewan was the country’s second largest agri-food exporter last year with $16.9 billion in sales around the world
Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit recently placed his hopes in the agricultural sector to lead the province out of the pandemic-induced economic decline. Marit, who spoke at Canada’s Farm Show on June 16, praised the agriculture sector’s COVID-19 response. He said 2020 was a record year for Saskatchewan, with $16.9 billion in agriculture exports, and […] Read more
Stung by pandemic and JBS cyberattack, U.S. ranchers build new beef plants
CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) – U.S. cattle ranchers and investors are sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into new beef plants after temporary closures of massive slaughterhouses at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic left farmers with nowhere to send animals destined to be turned into meat. A cyberattack against the U.S. unit of Brazilian […] Read more
Alberta farm show moves under new management
Farmfair International will now be run by the City of Edmonton’s tourism agency after the 142-year-old Northlands makes the decision to dissolve
An agricultural society that is older than Alberta will be shutting down following several years of financial challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Northlands has reached a tentative agreement with Explore Edmonton, which will take over the management of the K-Days exhibition and the Farmfair International livestock and agricultural show. A formal transition will take […] Read more
Some COVID-19 changes to grain sector likely permanent
Lots of things have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The shock has forced businesses everywhere, including the grain business, to rapidly adapt. Just think about how different it is to deliver grain today. In some ways it might be better, if you don’t like getting out of the truck. Many processes have been streamlined […] Read more
Replacing just-in-time with just-in-case
Processors and others reliant on agricultural products are building shock absorbers into their systems, says a U.S. supply chain expert. “Firms are holding more inventory, so instead of holding one week’s worth of inventory, they might hold one month’s,” said Heidi Schweizer, an economist at North Carolina State University. “You might call it ‘just-in-case’ supply […] Read more
Report suggests better co-ordination of trade
Creating more export opportunities was also included in a new parliamentary report that studied post-pandemic trade potential
Better co-ordination across government agencies, the creation of more export opportunities for agri-tech and an increased focus on trade are recommendations found in a parliamentary report focused on international trade and COVID-19. The standing committee on international trade released its interim report in May, outlining four recommendations. Starting last October, MPs from each of Canada’s […] Read more
Efficiency is best way for supply chains to be resilient
The world’s food supply chain is an outstanding example of resilience. The world’s consumer goods supply chain is anything but. (Those of you who follow me know I despise the overuse of the term “resilient,” but it fits here.) While hunger-fearful people across the developed world anxiously stocked their pantries, freezers and garages with food, […] Read more
