Lahore | Reuters — Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains ruin crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of financial crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices up […] Read more
Produce prices spike in flood-hit Pakistan as food crisis looms
Flooding wrecks crops, hampers logistics
Vacant office space may be the next frontier in Alberta farming
Company setting up indoor farm in Calgary Tower says vacant office space offers an opportunity
Reading Time: 3 minutes A prominent Calgary landmark will soon be the site of a large indoor aeroponics farming operation. About 65,000 square feet of former second-floor office space at the Calgary Tower Centre is being converted into a vertical farming operation that will grow strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, leafy greens and melons. “The produce we’re really interested in growing […] Read more
B.C. cherries cleared for export to Korea
Canada-Korea free trade pact a step ahead on lower tariffs
Canada’s seven-year-old free trade pact with South Korea already provides for reduced tariffs on cherries from British Columbia — a commodity that’s just been approved for export to Korea for the first time starting this month. Canadian agriculture and food safety officials announced Aug. 10 that talks with Seoul on import rules and certifications had […] Read more
China’s farmers struggle to save crops as heatwave, drought drag on
Chongqing | Reuters — As the tinder-dry countryside along China’s Yangtze river basin withers under a heatwave that has lasted more than two months, veteran farmer Chen Xiaohua recalled the last severe drought to hit his crops more than 60 years ago. “This year is drier than 1960,” said Chen, 68, from his plot of […] Read more
Quebec’s UPA hit by ransomware attack
Farm organization, affiliate bodies affected
Quebec’s overarching farmer organization, l’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), has confirmed its computer systems were hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month. UPA, in a release last Thursday, said it’s working with a cybersecurity firm to analyze the nature and scope of the attack, as well as any possible solutions to securely restore its […] Read more
Russia to ban some imports of seeds from Canada, Europe
Canada's Prograin soybean seed on list
Moscow | Reuters — Russia will ban imports of some seeds from several locations in Europe and Canada from Aug. 15, its agriculture safety watchdog said on Thursday, citing non-compliance by suppliers with phytosanitary requirements as the reason. Imports of tomato and carrot seeds will be banned from a nursery of Satimex Quedlinburg, in Germany, […] Read more
Insurance available for lightning and fire damage
Annual crop or hay fields insured under Straight Hail Insurance have the same spot-loss coverage as Hail Endorsement
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s summertime in Alberta, and with the season comes an increased potential for volatile storm activity. Depending on your insurance coverage with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), you may have protection against losses related to lightning strikes and accidental fires. “Agriculture is filled with unpredictable events, including the weather,” said Ken Handford, senior product co-ordinator. […] Read more
Fairfax proposes takeover of Recipe dining group
Chains include The Keg, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's
Reuters — Recipe Unlimited Corp. said on Tuesday shareholder and investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings has proposed to take the Canadian restaurant operator private for $1.23 billion, sending its shares up nearly 50 per cent. The offer price marks a premium of more than 53 per cent to Recipe’s last close. The shares have fallen […] Read more
Farm at Altario School is growing experiences and excitement
Reading Time: 4 minutes It started as a small tulip garden but has grown into a vibrant student-led farm that now entices kids to a once-struggling school in the tiny village of Altario. “This school gives us the opportunity to do things that we never thought we would do,” said Jessica Vert, a recently graduated Grade 9 student who […] Read more
Market value alone is selling nature short, governments told
Economic valuations needed but 'not sufficient,' co-chair says
Reuters — What is the value of a river? Is it for the nutritional content of the fish it sustains? The economic benefit of the local livelihoods it supports? Or does the river have its own value which humans cannot measure? Such questions may seem removed from the issues the world faces, from deepening climate […] Read more