We must assume that the situation that developed in 2022 is apt to occur again, and that next time it may not work out as well as it apparently has in 2022.

Opinion: The dodged bullets of 2022

Ag policy needs to be prepared if last year’s lifelines don’t reappear

Canadian grain and oilseed producers experienced a surge in major crop input expenses in 2022. At the same time, the market for grains and oilseeds was exceptionally volatile. This dynamic was critical in determining farm incomes in 2022 and has much to say on what farmers need from agricultural policy. To investigate this issue, the

Resolving the barley dispute is a starting point. It will also demonstrate that a rules-based
global trading system can influence China’s behaviour.

Comment: Australia-China barley solution shows diplomacy does work

Australia’s WTO case has been suspended with the promise of a Chinese tariff review

The agreement between Australia and China to resolve their barley dispute without World Trade Organization adjudication is evidence that relations have improved. It raises confidence Australia can maintain a constructive relationship with China, even as U.S.-China relations continue to deteriorate. China imposed an 80.5 per cent import tariff on Australian barley in May 2020, on


Chinese pork giant WH Group processes more chicken to offset competition

Chinese pork processing giant WH Group processed 30 per cent more poultry last year, the company said March 28, as it diversifies into other meats to lower costs and become more competitive. WH Group, which owns U.S.-based Smithfield Foods and also has operations in Europe, reported a 34.3 per cent rise in annual profit to

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden next to Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a G-7 meeting in the summer of 2022. Canada and the U.S. are beginning to talk about Indo-Pacific issues.

Crops Convention: As world fragments, ground game vital for success

The era of globalization is receding and regionalization is the order of the day

Don’t expect a return to normal geopolitical conditions, at least not if the past several decades can be considered normal. That was Janice Gross Stein’s message March 8 in an opening address to the Canadian Crops Convention in Ottawa. The noted political scientist and founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public



Sheila elder (third from right) visits a flour mill in Ecuador with members of the Latin America new crop mission. The mill uses almost exclusively Canadian wheat, Elder said.

Supply, sustainability top of mind for Canada’s wheat customers

Cereals Canada’s new crop missions found millers and bakers eager to ensure their supply of wheat amid global food insecurity

Latin American millers and bakers were keen to learn about Canadian farmers’ sustainability practices, says a Manitoba farmer recently returned from a Cereals Canada new crop mission. “There was a lot that we just weren’t letting people know that we actually do,” said Sheila Elder, a farmer from Wawanesa. Elder participated in Cereals Canada’s crop


Farmers should beware industry efforts to further erode the Canada Grain Act’s mandate to assure quality in the producer interest.

Opinion: Grain quality and the producer interest

The CGC’s historical role has slipped, and that’s a problem

The Canada Grain Act has a dual mandate: to regulate and safeguard the handling and quality of Canadian grain, and to do so in the interests of grain producers. Most farmers are aware of the Act’s provisions that defend their interests at primary elevators – independent arbitration of disputes and producer payment protection, for example

Even with a short growing season and relatively small area devoted to agriculture, Canada is the fifth largest exporter of agri-food and seafood products.

Comment: Canada, a superpower?

Here’s how the country might one day fit the bill

For the foreseeable future, the United States will probably remain the world’s most powerful nation. Yet, like any champion, it must watch for challengers and head them off. At present, China’s rise on the global stage troubles Washington. A few decades ago, it was the Soviet Union. But will future contenders for superpower status be


Opinion: U.S. comes closer to losing corn export crown

Opinion: U.S. comes closer to losing corn export crown

Brazil is closer than ever to being the undisputed king of corn sales

Reuters – U.S. corn exports usually begin increasing in January as soybean shipments ease, but that upward trend has yet to emerge due to poor overseas sales. China is the missing ingredient for U.S. exporters. Robust bookings from the Asian country inflated U.S. corn exports in the prior two years despite high prices, which are

File photo of a pedestrian crossing in front of the World Trade Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Dec. 9, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

U.S. wants WTO dispute system fixed by 2024

Appeals body frozen since Trump era; Washington 'very committed' to reform

Geneva | Reuters — The United States is entering a third phase of talks with countries to reform the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) hobbled trade dispute arbitration system and aims for it to be “fully functioning” by the end of 2024, the U.S. ambassador to the WTO told Reuters on Thursday. The WTO’s appeals bench,