Closeup of the flags of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA members on textile texture. NAFTA is the world's largest trade bloc and the member countries are Canada, United States and Mexico.

NAFTA’s potential end is Canada’s greatly needed wake-up call

Now more than ever the nation must expand its portfolio of allies and partners and take a strategic approach to trade


Despite Canada’s optimism, NAFTA talks seem to be heading nowhere. Wanting to push back on Mexico’s influence over the American economy, Washington now is indicating that the bilateral option with Canada is more appealing. In Trump’s playbook, multilateral deals are highly complex and can only benefit smaller markets to a greater degree. Bilateral deals are

Winter wheat planting lags in U.S.

Winter wheat planting lags in U.S.

The big question is if it’s weather related or a sign of shifting grower intentions

There’s little doubt the planting of the 2018-19 U.S. winter wheat crop is off to what could be the slowest start in history. But the most jarring fact is that the lag appears to be at its worst in the top-producing state, Kansas, which brings the intended acreage — and thus production potential — under


Soybeans damaged by dicamba. The Arkansas State Plant Board wants to ban in-crop dicamba use from April 15 to October 31 following almost 1,000 complaints about dicamba drift damaging nearby crops. The proposal needs approval from the Executive Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council.

Arkansas moving closer to in-crop dicamba restrictions

Its plant board wants an April 15 to Oct. 31 ban to prevent injury to crops from drift

Arkansas farmers might not be allowed to apply dicamba in annual crops during the 2018 growing season. A regulatory change prohibiting dicamba applications between April 15 and Oct. 31, was approved by the Arkansas State Plant Board, Arkansas’ Agriculture Department said in a news release Sept. 21. Read more: U.S. EPA gives dicamba ‘restricted use’ label



A view of Turtle’s Back.

Take a hike up the ‘Turtle’s Back’

Be sure to take binoculars and a camera. You’ll be glad you did as you enjoy the views from the tower

With the arrival of autumn, it’s time to try some of those hikes you might have put off during the heat of summer. One interesting hike, which my husband and I recently took, is the one in William Lake Provincial Park that takes you to the top of the “Turtle’s Back.” This small park is

Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Canola traders are fixed on forecasts for a record crop

Minneapolis wheat suggests protein will be in short supply

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts trended higher for the past two weeks, despite seasonal harvest pressure, although the bigger picture remains sideways and rangebound. The November contract briefly traded above the 200-day moving average of $497 per tonne on Sept. 22, on the back of some fund buying triggered by a rally in Chicago soybeans.





Health Canada had no herbicide drift complaints from Manitoba

That includes the herbicide dicamba, which has triggered many drift complaints in the U.S.

Health Canada has not received any herbicide drift complaints in Manitoba this season, including related to dicamba, André Gagnon, a media relations officer serving Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, said in an email Sept. 12. That contrasts sharply with the United States where the University of Missouri says 3.1 million acres

First NAFTA renegotiating session concludes in a swirl of rumours

First NAFTA renegotiating session concludes in a swirl of rumours

There was little concrete coming out of the first round of bargaining

The first round of NAFTA renegotiations has produced a guarded statement from the three countries and a swirl of rumours about what was discussed and what might emerge in the coming weeks. Held in Washington in mid-August, the meetings saw trade representatives from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. reopen the trade pact for the first