Editor’s Take: A closer mirror

A few years back I stumbled across the work of the late Barbara Tuchman, a historian who wrote bestselling books about everything from the events leading to the First World War to the folly of governments pursuing policies that were actually contrary to their own interests. The book that initially captured my interest was A

(Artisteer/iStock/Getty Images)

British milk sours amid labour crisis

London | Reuters — Some British dairy farmers have been forced to destroy tens of thousands of litres of milk due to rising costs, labour shortages and an acute deficit of truck drivers which has strained supply chains to breaking point, farmers said. A post-Brexit shortage of workers, exacerbated by the global strains of the


File photo of Mekelle, the capital city of Ethiopia’s Tigray region. (Yuzu2020/iStock/Getty Images)

U.N. urges Ethiopia to allow unhindered aid as hunger kills

'Ethiopian children are starving'

Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Ethiopia’s government on Wednesday to allow the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to millions in the country’s north “without hindrance” as U.N. officials report deaths from hunger. During a U.N. Security Council meeting, Guterres urged Ethiopia’s government to allow “unrestricted movement of desperately needed fuel, cash, communications

Market undercurrents in the food sector may be harder to pick up now than five or 10 years ago.

Comment: Lowballing food inflation

Evidence is mounting that StatCan may not be reflecting reality

If you think food prices are increasing at a much faster pace than what Statistics Canada is suggesting, you are likely not imagining it. For a few years now, many Canadians suspected that the federal agency was either underestimating our food inflation rate, or that there was some sort of lag between what was going


Scientists around the world have demonstrated the use of gene editing tools is as safe as any of the methods that have been used for thousands of years.

Opinion: Plant-breeding innovations fuel future

This new technology can help solve some of the biggest challenges of tomorrow

Just as we’ve seen the importance of science and innovation in combating the current public health challenge, they stand to play an equally important role in helping agriculture tackle the challenges it faces ahead. New pests and major weather events are increasing, making the job of producing food for a growing population even more challenging.

Farmer Jay Ruskey, the chief executive of FRINJ Coffee, drives his truck around his farm in California, where he planted coffee trees.

Wake up and smell the coffee…

Global warming is shifting the Coffee Belt northward

Reuters – Farmer David Armstrong recently finished planting what is likely the most challenging crop his family has ever cultivated since his ancestors started farming in 1865 — 20,000 coffee trees. Except Armstrong is not in the tropics of Central America — he is in Ventura, California, just 60 miles (97 km) away from downtown Los Angeles.


A still taken from a promotional video for AITC-M’s Follow the Farmer program.

Follow the farmers virtually

Ag in the Classroom’s new virtual farm tour program launched

Agriculture in the Classroom — Manitoba is launching a new program of virtual farm tours for kids in Grades 3 to 6. “This new program will help bring farming and agriculture to classrooms across the province in a time when getting out to a farm is just not possible,” said Sue Clayton, the group’s executive

A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

Police reopen Ambassador Bridge

Bridge reopened following search for explosives

Updated, Oct. 4 — Toronto | Reuters –– Canadian police reopened a major road bridge between Canada and the U.S. after largely shutting it down for hours on Monday to search for possible explosives in a vehicle, resulting in long delays for truckers at the busiest international crossing in North America. The Canada Border Services


File photo of piglets grazing in a U.K. pasture. (Grandbrothers/iStock/Getty Images)

Britain facing mass cull of pigs due to butcher shortage

London | Reuters — Britain’s farming industry has warned that hundreds of thousands of pigs may have to be culled within weeks unless the government issues visas to allow more butchers into the country. An acute shortage of butchers and slaughterers in the meat processing industry has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and Britain’s post-Brexit immigration

The Garden City container terminal at Savannah is operated by Ports America on behalf of the Georgia Ports Authority. (Photo courtesy Georgia Ports Authority)

Canada’s CPPIB to buy major U.S. port terminal operator

Canada Pension Plan's play furthers its infrastructure push

Reuters — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Ports America, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the U.S., from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. While no valuation was given in the announcement, the deal values Ports America at over US$4 billion, according to two sources