Comment/Feedback & Farming Articles

Four wooden spoons with dried peas and lentils

Give peas a chance

If we do, they’ll grow the western economy

By Carlo Dade, Naomi Christensen September 18, 2017

The Canadian Prairies are well known for being global leaders in pulse production and exports, but we didn’t get here by being complacent. We are now in the midst of an opportunity to become the premier region for pulse fractionation, a relatively new processing technology that breaks pulses into protein, starch and fibre fractions for

Closeup of the flags of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA members on textile texture. NAFTA is the world's largest trade bloc and the member countries are Canada, United States and Mexico.

Comment/Feedback, Other

NAFTA renegotiation is a failure of education

Trade enhances productivity, improves real wages and grows economies, but not enough people know how or why

By Justin Bedi September 6, 2017

Renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement has got underway. Canada, Mexico and the United States have begun a complex, time-consuming and difficult process that could change everything — or almost nothing. For all countries involved, the risk and uncertainty outweigh the potential rewards, because we already had the ultimate reward: free trade. Only

Comment/Feedback, Dairy cattle

Canada’s supply management system for dairy is no longer defensible

It’s unfair to consumers and has significant hidden costs when it comes to making trade deals

By Martha Hall Findlay September 5, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear: Dairy is high on the U.S. agenda for NAFTA. And Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has also made it clear that this government is committed to protecting supply management. Three of the top-six milk-producing states in the United States — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — helped

Stock market chart on LCD screen. Selective focus.

Comment/Feedback, Markets

‘Group think’ let market watchers down

Markets were surprised by the latest optimistic yield expectations for corn and soy from USDA

By Karen Braun August 25, 2017

Farmers, traders, and analysts alike were left shocked after the U.S. Department of Agriculture published its optimistic corn and soybean yields earlier this month, though the market’s narrow expectations going into the Aug. 10 report may carry some of the blame. Analysts were looking for USDA to lower the U.S. corn yield to 166.2 bushels

Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler says government needs to have the right support programs to meet farmers’ needs.

Comment/Feedback

Analysis: AgriStability review welcomed, but can it be fixed without more money?

KAP says in 2013 the program switched from farm income stability to disaster relief

By Allan Dawson August 15, 2017

After cuts to AgriStability five years ago, then Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Doug Chorney predicted “AgriStability will be losing support… from farmers because it really has got to be questionable if you’ll ever see a payment.” He was right. Participation is down. In 2013, there were 7,015 Manitoba farmers enrolled in the federal-provincial ‘business

Comment/Feedback, Dairy cattle

NAFTA ‘absolutely essential’ for U.S. dairy industry

Dairy executive fears U.S. could lose Mexican market share to New Zealand and EU

By Stan Ryan July 31, 2017

Excerpts from testimony by Stan Ryan, president and CEO of Darigold and the Northwest Dairy Association, to the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, July 18. As we look at how to ensure we can continue a positive track record of export sales supporting farms and good jobs back here at home, NAFTA,

Comment/Feedback, Markets, Weather

U.S. weather scares funds out of their shorts

Hot and dry conditions throughout much of the U.S. are causing supply concerns

By Karen Braun July 25, 2017

Speculators have turned bullish across all three Chicago and Minneapolis wheat contracts for the first time in over two years. Funds are also buying back gobs of corn and soybean contracts after being record or near-record short in recent weeks. Crops in the United States are extremely sensitive to weather at this time of year.

Comment, Comment/Feedback, Other

Amazon set to take a bite out of the food industry

Given its ability to fuse efficient distribution and strategic market insight,  the e-commerce giant could well become the leading food retailer in North America

By Sylvain Charlebois July 24, 2017

Amazon is intent on becoming the world’s most powerful retailer, with the help of food sales. Amazon’s US$13-billion takeover of Whole Foods isn’t shocking. It’s been rumoured for months. Now the mammoth Amazon, with its large revenues and small profits, has confirmed those rumours by making the biggest deal in its history. And acquiring troubled

Comment, Comment/Feedback

Comment: Are you at risk?

Risk assessment, not blind fear of hazards, lets us all live our lives

By Cam Dahl June 26, 2017

Should GM be labelled? Is organic healthier? Does glyphosate cause cancer? Do you put your kids at risk if you feed them meat or is the caveman diet the way to go? Your good friend and neighbour thinks Gwyneth Paltrow is right about all this stuff, is she correct? All of these questions, and a

Comment, Comment/Feedback

Serving up an unpalatable minimum wage

The effects of artificial intelligence and the rise of the digital world will force us to rethink  how we produce, process and distribute food

By Sylvain Charlebois June 21, 2017

Governments jumping on the $15-an-hour bandwagon are missing an opportunity to look at how the next technological revolution will affect our food systems. And that’s a shame. The minimum wage is rising in many parts of the country. Recently, Ontario announced it would raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour, to match Alberta. In

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end lower

ICE Weekly: Trade progress, new data threaten to break canola’s price range

CBOT Weekly: Trade awaits USDA S/D report