family shopping in a grocery store

Crop prices and consumer food demand

Neither the production nor the consumption side of the total food supply equation responds quickly to price decreases

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of columns exploring how agriculture supply-and-demand fundamentals function differently than those of other businesses. In describing the model we use to analyze agricultural policies, the two previous columns examined the responsiveness of the production of grains, oilseeds, and fibres to changes in prices. We saw that

Canada needs a different tact in international trade

Canada needs a different tact in international trade

Instead of defending supply management it needs to attack competitors’ subsidies

Supply management polarizes opinions: defend the status quo or dismantle the system. Unfortunately, this masks important strategic choices with implications for the dairy industry and, by extension, Canada’s agri-food sector as a whole. Canada’s internal debate keeps the country on a defensive footing. It is time to get offensive by focusing on other countries’ agricultural


Supply management views aired

It wasn’t quite a debate, but attendees at the Alberta Beef Industry conference in Banff last month got two different views on supply management. On one side was New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Alistair Polson, who said Canada’s protected marketing system for dairy and poultry is a deal breaker for entry into the Trans-Pacific

Ag Canada predicts good times will continue in farming

The federal government expects grain and oilseed prices to stay high, input inflation to moderate and a rebound for cattle and hog producers


Strong commodity prices and healthy world demand have put Canadian farmers in an enviable position, says Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in its annual crystal ball look at the industry. Net income for most producers will be at or above record levels once all the data for 2012 is added up, thanks to better-than-forecast crop prices

High costs expected to bite into U.S. farm profit

The seven-year-old U.S. agricultural boom, driven by record-high commodity prices and painfully tight supplies, is expected to peak this year and then come to an abrupt end as high costs start to bite, the government projected Feb. 11. The U.S. Agriculture Department said farm income would soar to a record $127.6 billion this year, up


Mosaic profit falls on weak China sale

reuters / Mosaic’s quarterly operating profit fell 30 per cent and the fertilizer producer said it expects potash margins to fall further in its current quarter, a reflection of its recent low-priced contract with China. China has been aggressively negotiating for lower potash prices. In December, Sinofert Holdings signed a deal with Canpotex — the

China to speed up rural land reform, ensure food supply

Reuters / China will draw up policies aimed at speeding up the transfer of rural land as part of efforts to improve efficiency and promote large-scale commercial farming, the government said Jan. 31. The central government said in its “No. 1 document” for 2013, focusing on modernizing agriculture, it would grant more subsidies to large-scale

England’s wettest year drives down farm incomes

Reuters / Farm incomes are set to fall in England in 2012-13 with pig and dairy producers among the hardest hit as feed costs climb and the wettest year on record reduces crop yields and quality, Britain’s Farm Ministry said Jan. 31. Specialist pig farms are expected to see a 50 per cent fall in


Fiscal battles block work on new U.S. farm subsidy bill

Reuters / Fiscal battles in Congress could prevent lawmakers from writing a new Farm Bill for weeks or months, prolonging disputes over farm subsidy reforms and cuts in food stamps for the poor that together could save up to $35 billion. Agricultural leaders in Congress originally hoped for speedy work on the overdue Farm Bill

Mexican farmers want overhaul of grain-hedging programs

mexico city / reuters With a harvest deadline looming, Mexican grain farmers are calling for an urgent overhaul of two government programs that help small producers buy derivatives contracts to hedge their crops. With corn prices down nearly 15 per cent since August and facing the possibility of an uninsured crop, farmer groups say they