China eyes even more U.S. soy

China, the world’s biggest food shopper, is likely to buy more U.S. soybeans this quarter, as a withering drought is expected to cut the South American harvest, pushing soy prices up to fresh highs. Benchmark Chicago soy has risen for three weeks on the relentless Southern Hemisphere summer, and analysts say prices could head higher,

Food industry wants say in new legislation

Food safety is a job for the companies that make food, and government should focus on setting nutrition and health standards and policing the industry. That’s the pitch being made by large processors as the federal government prepares to revamp food-safety legislation. “Let’s not lose perspective: We can’t regulate bugs out of our food,” said



U.S. Needs Closer Watch On Afghan Farm Aid

The American Embassy in Kabul needs to do a better job of tracking aid to Afghanistan s Agriculture Ministry, which totalled $77 million last year, says a U.S. watchdog. The embassy should do more to evaluate whether the U.S. aid is properly used and whether the strategy to invest in the Agriculture Ministry is working,


Share The Bounty With Those In Need

briefs staff / Turkey Farmers of Canada is renewing its partnership with Food Banks Canada, contributing with an annual donation of $50,000 to help meet the needs of those in rural communities. Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC) is honoured to be partnering with Food Banks Canada for the third consecutive year, said TFC chair Mark

Algeria Invites Interest From Farmland Investors

Algeria has for the first time formally invited expressions of interest from investors, including foreigners, seeking to acquire stakes in the country s farming sector. Agriculture in Algeria, an energy-exporting former French colony, has been largely closed to foreign investment but the government is cautiously opening up the sector to try to increase productivity and


In Brief… – for Sep. 22, 2011

Sask. harvest ahead of normal:Saskatchewan farmers had harvested 60 per cent of the overall 2011 crop as of Sept. 12, moving ahead of the five-year average of 47 per cent after a week of favourable weather, the provincial government said last Thursday in a weekly report. Harvest progress was the most advanced for this time

Ukraine AgMin Sees Bumper Wheat, Maize Exports

Ukraine plans to boost its grain harvest to 51 million tonnes in 2011 from 39.2 million a year ago and hopes to double exports to 24 million tonnes in the 2011-12 season, Ukraine s Agriculture Minister Mykola Prysyazhnyuk said on Sept. 7. Prysyazhnyuk told Reuters the former Soviet republic had harvested 22.2 million tonnes of


Agricultural Hall Of Fame – for Aug. 4, 2011

Keith Smith was born and raised on a farm in the Oak Lake area of Manitoba. Following high school, Keith attended the University of Manitoba from which he graduated with a B. Sc. in agriculture in 1955. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin with an M. Sc. in Extension Education. In

In Brief… – for Jul. 14, 2011

La Nińa – the sequel: The La Nińa weather anomaly blamed for one of the worst droughts in the southern United States could revive this autumn, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center forecast July 7. The CPC said wind circulation consistent with La Nińa was persisting in the central Pacific Ocean where the anomaly is usually