Bjorn Orvar, co-founder and chief scientific officer at ORF Genetics, poses for a photo outside the company’s greenhouse in southwest Iceland.

Will COVID-19 be a game changer in humanity’s relationship with meat?

Double-digit growth in plant-based foods expected this year, but lab-grown meat is the next frontier

Thomson Reuters Foundation – In a vast, illuminated greenhouse set among Iceland’s otherworldly lava fields, the genetically modified shoots of an ancient cereal crop may hold the key to the food of the future. Using abundant geothermal waters for heating and volcanic ash instead of soil, biotech company ORF Genetics is growing barley here to

Manitoba harvest progress at 88 per cent, soybeans see rapid progress

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for October 6

Southwest Region Sunny and dry weather dominated last week in the Southwest region, with one or two cloudy and windy days. Many producers have finished their harvest and doing some fall fertilizer application and other fieldwork. Some districts have inadequate topsoil moisture, which is making tillage challenging, as well as for fall anhydrous ammonia applications.


(Dave Bedard photo)

CN, CP set third-quarter records for grain movement

MarketsFarm — Canada’s big two railways again reported moving record amounts of Canadian grain during the third quarter of 2020. Canadian National Railway (CN) reported Monday it had shipped 7.76 million tonnes of grain by rail, and Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) said Friday it had moved 7.72 million tonnes. For CN that not only marked

File photo of Diefenbaker Lake in southern Saskatchewan. (IanChrisGraham/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal irrigation pledge seen flowing mainly to Prairies

Infrastructure plan also includes promised broadband support

Prairie provinces will receive the bulk of Ottawa’s $1.5 billion commitment to support irrigation projects, according to federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday launched a three-year, $10 billion infrastructure plan aimed at five different sectors, including agriculture. The $1.5 billion is expected to result in 700,000 acres of irrigated land.


File photo of a Conagra production facility at Oakdale, Calif., about 150 km east of San Francisco, on Dec, 18, 2015. (Photo: Reuters/Fred Greaves)

Food retail order boom may ease after big quarter, Conagra says

Reuters — Conagra Brands put better-than-expected first quarter sales on Thursday down to heavy ordering by retailers worried about the durability of supply chains in the months ahead as a second wave of coronavirus cases takes hold. Shares in the foodstuffs maker dipped as much as three per cent before recovering after chief financial officer

Bayer’s cross symbol hangs in a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport. (Typhoonski/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Bayer plans more cost cuts, impairment charges

Pandemic now expected to hit crop science wing

Berlin | Reuters — German drugs and chemical company Bayer announced plans on Wednesday for more than 1.5 billion euros (C$2.34 billion) of cost cuts as of 2024 and said it would take impairment charges on its agricultural business as it battles with low commodity prices. Bayer said that the impact of the coronavirus on


Roquette’s plant-based protein products include Nutralys T70S, billed as a plant-based, texturized protein that “guarantees a unique fibrous texture and great use adaptable to several types of meat substitute” such as burger patties, chicken-type filets and sausage. (Roquette.com)

Plant-based protein maker Roquette sees short-term COVID-19 impact

Demand could accelerate second Canadian plant

Paris | Reuters — The plant-based protein market has seen a slowdown in new product launches and lower sales in restaurants and cafeterias due to COVID-19 but benefited from more people cooking at home and trying new products, French manufacturer Roquette said. The market for plant-based protein such as meat-free burgers has surged in the




(4loops/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas, lentils see some strength

Lentil trade watching India

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea and lentil markets have shown some post-harvest strength in recent weeks, with good offshore demand providing support. “On the yellow pea side, it’s China, and on lentils, it’s basically India,” Marcos Mosnaim, of Globeways Canada, said of the strength in both markets. Yellow peas are currently trading as high as $7.50