World average wheat yield 2015 (bushels per acre): 48.4 U.S. 43.6 EU 86.5 Ukraine 57.4 Uzbekistan 76.4 Canada 40.3 Percentage increase in five-year average Prairie canola yields, 2005-09 to 2010-14: 5.9 For spring wheat: 15.6 Average per capita U.S. meat consumption, 1965, ounces per day: 7.8 In 2015: 9.34 USDA recommended daily consumption for men
Editorial: Just the numbers
'Then' and 'now' statistical figures in the world of agriculture
Editorial: Knocking on new doors in Ottawa
Aside from the difference in political stripe, the new federal government means quite a change for western farmers. You may or may not have agreed with their policies, but at least the Conservatives had plenty of MPs who knew how to run a swather, sort cattle or fill out an AgriStability form. There are some
Editorial: Time for a review of Peak
Peak of the Market is back in the news, not that it’s ever very far from it. For example, week in, week out, every issue of the Winnipeg Free Press has a large advertisement with a daily recipe from Peak, each prominently featuring a photo of CEO Larry McIntosh. However, those ads often feature vegetables
Opinion: Dairy farmers get (undeserved) bad rap during TPP negotiations
The proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement involves 12 countries representing about 40 per cent of the world’s economy, but some of Canada’s national media coverage would have had you believe that there is only one issue holding it up — access to Canada’s dairy market. The Globe and Mail was the worst offender —
Editorial: We might need 100-bushel canola
The Canola 100 Agri-Prize for the first to achieve 100-bushel canola makes for an interesting challenge. Despite a favourable lingering PR image as the “Cinderella crop,” a look at the numbers suggests canola is showing signs of middle age. A few patches in a good growing year might even approach 80 to 90 bushels now,
Editorial: Canada’s GHG stance tarnishes our brand
Things aren’t going too well in the international trade agreement department. At the World Trade Organization (WTO) round, which has been dragging along since 1991, it’s come to the point where the director general is actually being honest about its prospects. “Taking an overview of all of these consultations it is hard to see a
Editorial: Captive grain, and captive farmers?
COFCO likley to create waves for the future of grain pricing
Those who follow livestock markets will know the term “captive cattle” — feedlot cattle owned by the large packers, and which they can use to maintain supply and/or take the pressure off rising open-market prices. In the past that’s led to some U.S. government intervention, such as mandatory reporting of purchases and prices. Recent developments
Editorial: More to TPP than milk and eggs
The Trans-Pacific Partnership and what a deal could mean for Canadian producers
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement now under negotiation involves 12 of the world’s largest economies, and has been described as “NAFTA on steroids.” What’s holding it up? Canadian dairy farmers. Or so you’d think about reading some of the national and international media coverage. Some of it made us think of the coverage of
Editorial: Black swan?
Among the many topics in the science news releases last week was one from the University of East Anglia in the U.K. “A new study pinpoints five strains of yeast capable of turning agricultural byproducts, such as straw, sawdust and corncobs, into bioethanol — a well-known alcohol-based biofuel,” the release said. We’ve seen similar news
Editorial: Just follow the label
How should farmers and the agricultural community react to news that a French agency has labelled glyphosate as “possibly carcinogenic”? We’ve already seen the battle of the competing press releases questioning the science. The usual anti-GMO suspects are no doubt having a heyday. Farmers, as usual, will be stuck in the middle. Rather than picking
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