Argentina revamps wheat policy

Argentina’s new wheat export system promises to spur output from the grains-producing powerhouse at a time when farmers are hurting from dry weather and the government needs more foreign currency. The administration of recently re-elected President Cristina Fernandez will scrap incremental export quotas in a bid to improve prices for farmers by boosting competition among




Buckwheat snack food impresses at food show

A new made-in-Manitoba snack food has been named one of the top 12 natural foods at an international gourmet food show in San Francisco. Buckshots, a roasted buckwheat snack, may have vaulted the crop from obscurity to significant new interest, too. Many of the Canadian, American, and global buyers attending the 2012 Winter Fancy Food


Co-operating with its competitors

Attendance was down at the annual Canadian Wheat Board breakfast at Ag Days this year, but the farmers who came were encouraged by what they heard. “That just made my day. Now we have a choice,” said Jake Hofer, a wheat producer from Treesbank Colony after listening to a presentation by Gord Flaten, the board’s

Closing gender gap seen key in food security fight

Apolicy aimed at ensuring future security of food supplies must centre around the world’s 500 million smallholder producers, many of whom are women who farm less than two hectares of land, a leading United Nations official said Dec. 14. “Unless they are at the centre of the future strategies for food security, we will not


South Korean beef ban lifted

Cattle producers across Canada celebrated the news that South Korea had lifted its eight-year ban on Canadian beef aged 30 months or younger Jan. 20. South Korea will begin accepting Canadian beef imports immediately. The South Korean government published its approval of the import health requirements (IHRs) and notified the Canadian government that all certification

Monitor open market, Goodale says

The new open wheat and barley market promised for western Canadian farmers starting Aug. 1 should be monitored by an independent institution so the findings can help guide future policies, says Saskatchewan Liberal MP Ralph Goodale. “Unless you start working on this right now from the beginning and follow it through from Day 1 you


New twist in wheat board legal battle

The battle over the future of the Canadian Wheat Board has moved off the farm, out of the parliamentary chambers and into the courts. Two new court actions were launched early in the new year, including a class-action lawsuit claiming $15.4 billion is owed to farmers upon the dismantling of Canadian Wheat Board assets. “The

Market steady, but uncertainty ahead

Commodity prices may have peaked in 2011, ProFarmer analyst Mike Jubinville told farmers attending the St. Jean Farm Days. “My gut feeling right now is that the heights have already come in,” Jubinville told producers. “It’s not that I’m feeling bearish about the marketplace going into 2012, personally I think that there is going to