MarketsFarm — Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan could be in for a cooler-than-normal summer, according to the latest long-range outlook from Environment Canada. The latest seasonal forecast from the government agency, released Tuesday, calls for a 40 to 80 per cent chance of below normal temperatures from June through August across all of the agricultural regions […] Read more
Environment Canada sees cool summer for Manitoba
Hepatitis A outbreak linked to organic strawberries
Cases reported in two provinces, three states
Washington | Reuters –– Food safety regulators in both Canada and the U.S. are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 17 people in the U.S. and 10 in Canada, the agencies said. Fifteen illnesses were reported in California, and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota, the […] Read more
Fertilizer maker Yara says world faces extreme food supply shock
Sanctions cut global fertilizer supply 15 per cent, company says
Davos, Switzerland | Reuters — Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara says donors urgently need to close the U.N.’s $10 billion food programme funding gap to avoid a catastrophe as sanctions on Russian fertilizers and Ukraine’s grain export problems have created an extreme global shock. “The world has realized that food can be a weapon and it […] Read more
Wastewater regulation eased for Nova Scotia on-farm processing
Nova Scotia has introduced regulatory changes that allow on-farm processing operations to better manage wastewater on their smaller scale. The changes, which took effect May 11, come at the request of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) — which has said that owners of small farm-level processing facilities shouldn’t be treated the same as […] Read more
Food crisis fuels fears of protectionism compounding shortages
Davos | Reuters — A growing world food crisis is precipitating protectionist moves by countries which are likely to compound the problem and could lead to a wider trade war, business leaders and policymakers at the World Economic Forum said. In a sign of the escalating squeeze on food supplies and rising prices, a government […] Read more
Sold-out shelves are back — but now it’s vegetable oil in short supply
Global supply was tight before Ukraine invasion, and now some countries are imposing limits on shoppers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Toilet paper. Dairy products. Flour. In the early days of the pandemic, everyday staples became near-luxury items as signs went up limiting purchases to one or two per customer. Now, thanks to another global crisis disrupting supply chains, vegetable oil is getting the same treatment in some parts of the world. “There’s already a strong […] Read more
World could see 1.5 C of warming in next five years, WMO reports
London | Reuters — The world faces a 50 per cent chance of warming of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, if only briefly, by 2026, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday. That does not mean the world would be crossing the long-term warming threshold of 1.5 C (2.7 F), which scientists have set […] Read more
Drought gone in Manitoba but worsening in Alberta, AAFC reports
MarketsFarm — Record-breaking precipitation in southern Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan helped improve moisture conditions in the region in April, taking much of the area out of the drought classification, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) for the period ended April 30. Two separate Colorado lows brought significant snow, […] Read more
Alberta seeding ahead of five-year average
MarketsFarm — While spring planting in Alberta is 12.2 per cent complete overall there’s a disparity between the south and the rest of the province. Also, the pace was 2.6 points above the five-year average, but 5.2 behind last year. As of Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture found seeding in the south was at 36.5 per cent […] Read more
CF Industries profit soars as sanctions raise fertilizer prices
Chicago | Reuters — CF Industries on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings climbed 485 per cent as the fertilizer maker ramped up U.S. shipments after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine catapulted prices for crop nutrients. Top fertilizer producers including CF, Nutrien and Mosaic Co. have benefited as sanctions on exporters Russia and ally Belarus limited global supplies […] Read more