(PortSeattle.org)

Japan, White House rule out re-opening TPP pact

Reuters — Japan and the Obama administration on Tuesday rejected calls from some U.S. lawmakers to consider re-opening a Pacific trade deal and said any renegotiation attempt could scupper the whole pact. “Renegotiation is not an option,” Caroline Atkinson, Obama’s deputy national security adviser for international economics, said on a call hosted by the Atlantic

(Barry Wilmore photo courtesy NASA)

Global markets: Japan, Germany cut economic forecasts

CNS Canada –– The following is a glance at the news moving markets globally. JAPAN CUTS INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, ECONOMIC OUTLOOK – The Japanese government downgraded its assessment of industrial production and identified some areas of weakness in a monthly government report released on Wednesday. The reduced forecast for industrial production is due to weaker demand


The U.S. continues to put pressure on Canada regarding supply management, particularly around the country’s dairy industry.

Ritz optimistic for TPP

Canada says it has put offers on the TPP table, while the U.S. continues to disagree

Canada’s agriculture minister says Canada won’t negotiate in public when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed wide-ranging free trade agreement among a group of Pacific Rim countries. Responding to questions at an unrelated event in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Gerry Ritz said Canada has put forward strong proposals regarding

Abe Van Melle, technical manager of the Beef Centre of Excellence, is working on adding value to Canadian beef by exploring underutilized cuts. Here he’s working with rope meat, also known as hanging tender, which traditionally is ground into hamburger, but can be made into a roast or steaks.

VIDEO: Canada’s Beef Centre of Excellence building demand through emotional connections

The goal is building brand loyalty by demonstrating Canadian beef is best in class

account_id=”2206156280001″ player_id=”ryGLIkmv”] Rob Meijer[/caption] “We need to change the paradigm to put (beef) producers and consumers in a space where they can talk and tell stories, because without that relationship, without the integrity, you cannot create trust, you cannot… earn what we call brand loyalty,” Meijer tells reporters visiting the centre June 10. The facility


grain truck

Canola growers urged to be smart: don’t use Clever (quinclorac) until importers set MRLs

Those who have sprayed canola with the herbicide need to inform buyers at delivery time

The Canola Council of Canada is warning growers that using the newly released herbicide called Clever on their canola crops this year might not be a smart idea. That’s because Japan, one of Canada’s biggest canola customers, has not yet established a maximum residue level (MRL) for the active ingredient, quinclorac, which means all grain

vintage newspaper article

Many prizes up for grabs in “Rapeyield 30” contest

Our History: June 1976

In 1976 Elanco sponsored the Rapeyield 30 contest to encourage producers to use Treflan and shoot for a 30-bushel rapeseed yield and win watches, shotguns and a trip to Japan. The previous five-year average yield in Manitoba was 18.3 bushels. Farmers trying for that high yield would be challenged by flea beetles — we reported


shopper at a beef display in grocery store

Beef, pork producers watch home markets as exports grow

Both sectors have adopted strategies to increase domestic consumer demand

While they’re major players in overseas markets, Canada’s beef and pork sectors also want to stop losing domestic market share to imports, industry representatives told the Canadian Meat Council annual conference. “Imports continue to flow into Canada,” said Derrick Ash, director of national marketing for Canada Pork. Domestic pork consumption dropped by five per cent

egg flats

Trade talks set to divide farm communities

Some groups want a trade deal even if it means sacrificing supply management

High-level negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) scheduled for Guam this month have opened a rift in Canada’s farm community that successive governments have tried to prevent. Livestock and grain groups have gone public with a demand the federal government fully engage in the talks and, while they don’t actually say it, essentially be prepared


Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a good deal for Canada?

The economic logic behind free trade is that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership a bulwark of freedom as proponents claim, or is Canada about to be shoehorned into another free trade deal that will continue the hollowing out of our economy? It depends on your perspective. The TPP, championed by U.S. President Barack Obama as an important addition to the world’s free trade zone

potato crop

Manitoba potato acreage seen steady in 2015

Demand for processing potatoes is stable to up slightly in North America

It’s too early to make definitive statements about potato acreage in Manitoba in 2015, but Keystone Potato Producers Association manager Dan Sawatzky expects that if anything, it may go up slightly. “I think we’re pretty confident that we can say that,” he says. In 2014, Manitoba acreage totalled 63,340 acres, of which 45,000 were processing,