Dale Nething, 86, waits on the steps as his son Don Nething, 62, troubleshoots the combine after it broke down while being used to harvest corn in Ravenna, Ohio, October 11, 2021. Manufacturing meltdowns are hitting the U.S. heartland, as the semiconductor shortages that have plagued equipment makers for months expand into other components. Supply chain woes now pose a threat to the U.S. food supply and farmers’ ability to get crops out of fields.

Price pinch: global economy caught in perfect storm

Rising costs, shortages and a lack of workers are all weighing in

London|Tokyo|Reuters – From beef bowls in Tokyo to fried chicken in London, consumers are starting to feel the pinch from the surge in costs coursing through the global economy. The rebound as coronavirus restrictions are eased has exposed supply chain shortages, with firms scrambling for workers, ships and even fuel to power factories, threatening the fledgling economic recovery.

Whether our current bout of inflation will prove to be transitory is unknown, as is just how high the rate could get.

Editor’s Take: Riding the lightning

We’re officially into ‘interesting times.’ There’s no other way to categorize it, as the reports start stacking up. Tire and glyphosate shortages because of power cuts in China. The U.K. contemplating a pig cull and milk dumping for lack of labour. Retailers fretting over a ‘cancelled Christmas’ due to supply chain snarling. Gasoline prices in


File photo of the Port of Montreal. (Guy Banville/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada concerned about supply chain issues, watching ports ‘closely’

Reuters –– Canada is concerned about the challenges facing global supply chains and is watching the country’s ports very closely, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. Freeland, speaking to reporters in Washington after meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said she was broadly optimistic about the strength of Canada’s economic recovery

Harvest projections are trending lower due to this year's drought conditions.

A silver lining following challenging summer?

BMO report cautiously optimistic about the strength of the industry after hot, dry summer

A new report from BMO Economics sheds some light on the economic impacts of the hot, dry conditions that persisted across North America this summer. The report, issued on September 17, describes how the widespread growing challenges North American farmers faced this summer affected an agricultural sector still trying to make sense of the impacts


A waiter walks among diners at Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn, New York August 12, 2021.

No sizzle, no steak

Delta variant, beef prices threaten to take the sizzle out of steak houses seen as key recovery indicator

Reuters – Just as steak houses are recovering from the first wave of COVID shutdowns, the Delta variant threatens to diminish the appetite for a sector seen as a barometer for full economic recovery. While many top steak restaurants found new customers by reinventing themselves during the crisis, the comeback of the US$5-billion U.S. premium

Editor’s Take: What comes down must (eventually) go up

It was the fall of 1981. Pierre Elliot Trudeau was once again in Sussex Drive after the brief prime ministership of Joe Clark. Ronald Reagan was just settling into the White House. And down the road, at the U.S. Federal Reserve, legendary central banker Paul Volcker was targeting inflation with high interest rates. From the


During the pandemic, a good number of younger Canadians have left cities for the suburbs, or in some cases, the countryside.

Comment: The end of cities?

The work-from-home revolution could lead to a rural renaissance

It is no secret the pandemic has caused many Canadians to move from cities to the suburbs and even the countryside. According to Statistics Canada, the phenomenon led to a record loss of population in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver in 2020. Vacancy rates are skyrocketing in many urban centres across the country. The same phenomenon

Farm Credit Canada’s chief economist says the agriculture sector is well positioned for the future.

Agriculture after the pandemic

It’s a whole alphabet of recovery options, FCC’s chief economist says

With COVID-19 vaccines rolling out for worldwide distribution and immunization on the horizon, now hopes turn to putting the virus in the rear-view mirror and rebuilding a battered global economy. That’s almost certainly going to mean enduring a sharp recession, says J.P. Gervais, chief economist for Farm Credit Canada. Speaking at the virtual Manitoba Agronomist


“The way forward has been deeply clouded by the second wave and renewed restrictions, so growth will cool considerably in Q4.” – Doug Porter, chief economist, BMO Capital Markets.

Canada economy grew through September, but way forward ‘clouded’

As the pandemic’s second wave arrives uncertainty abounds

The Canadian economy grew in both August and September, with the August gain slightly above expectations, but a rise in COVID-19 infections, along with targeted restrictions to curb the virus, are expected to put a lid on economic activity into the fall. Canada’s real GDP rose 1.2 per cent in August, ahead of analyst estimates

Opinion: Reason for cautious optimism after throne speech

The biggest-ticket item for farmers in the government’s upcoming plans is better rural internet

The recent throne speech was predictably light on specifics, but producers should be cautiously optimistic about most of the ambitious legislative plans laid out by the minority governing Liberals. The biggest potential win comes in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s commitment to enhance rural broadband access. “In the last six months, many more people have worked