Might future growth for Canada’s fruit and vegetable industries be found indoors?

Schoepp: Technology can be used to create new opportunities in Canadian agriculture

We can not only grow more veggies and fruits here, but also create new value-added sectors

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s food guide encourages putting fruits and vegetables at the centre of the plate. But to do this the nation is heavily dependent on imports, particularly from California. In 2019, Canada imported US$4.3 billion of vegetables, fruits and nuts from California. In total, Canada imports nearly US$6 billion in fruits and US$4 billion in vegetables […] Read more

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau speaks to media in Winnipeg on Feb. 13, 2020. (Dave Bedard photo)

Yes or no now on AgriStability changes, ag minister says

Farm and commodity groups line up to press provinces for decision

Ottawa’s proposals for changes to the AgriStability farm income stabilization program require a yes or no answer from participating provinces, not more discussion, the federal ag minister said Wednesday. “It has been just over 110 days since we made the offer to the provinces to improve AgriStability,” Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Winnipeg MP Jim […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Farmland appreciation continues through pandemic year

FCC report puts Canada's average land value increase at 5.4 per cent

Economic churn across Canada from the global COVID-19 pandemic didn’t faze the country’s real estate market — nor its farmland market in particular — in 2020, according to the latest review from the federal farm lending agency. Farm Credit Canada on Monday released its 2020 Farmland Values report, showing an average increase of 5.4 per […] Read more

Large volumes of food are being wasted due to an infrastructure incapacity to move, store or protect it.

Schoepp: Failing to deliver on its promise sparked the backlash against globalization

The huge amount of food waste because of inadequate infrastructure is a big part of the problem

Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2014 the world economy stalled and for the first time the rapid pace of globalization slowed. The consequences were felt immediately in a measurable drop in GDP and in food insecurity. Undernourishment rose in 2015 and is now at levels not seen since 2010. Economists were quick to blame the slippage in globalized trade […] Read more


Farmers Edge’s online event on March 3 included a congratulatory note from TMX Group, owner of the TSX. (Farmers Edge video screengrab)

Farmers Edge launches IPO

Digital ag firm makes first public share offering to big demand

Manitoba’s best-known digital agriculture firm is now a publicly-traded company. Farmers Edge, founded in 2005 in Pilot Mound, Man. by agronomists Wade Barnes and Curtis MacKinnon, has carved out a niche using field-centric data, artificial intelligence and its FarmCommand data management platform. CEO Wade Barnes called it an exciting day during an online press conference […] Read more

(Thinkstock photo)

Farm cash receipts up in 2020

Crop receipts and direct payments up, livestock slightly lower

MarketsFarm — New data from Statistics Canada on Tuesday showed Canadian farm cash receipts went up in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, on the strength of rising crop prices and exports. The total value of farm cash receipts in the country totalled $71.7 billion in 2020, an 8.1 per cent increase from the previous year. […] Read more


Snow cover in southern Manitoba has been sparse this winter, as shown across this field east of Starbuck, Man. (MarketsFarm photo by Glen Hallick)

Wet or dry spring ahead? Depends on where in Canada

MarketsFarm — There will be increased in risk of flooding this spring in British Columbia, western Alberta and parts of Eastern Canada, according to a report Friday from AccuWeather. Meanwhile, dry conditions are expected to continue across the Prairies. AccuWeather’s report forecasts below-normal temperatures for B.C. and western Alberta going into spring. That could delay […] Read more



(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Nutrien beats profit expectation on strong potash sales

Reuters — Canadian fertilizer maker Nutrien posted fourth-quarter profit above analysts’ estimates on Wednesday as potash demand rose amid rising crop prices, sending its U.S.-listed shares up in extended trade. Fertilizer producers have benefited from high U.S. crop exports, including record-large corn sales to China. With crop prices touching multi-year highs, farmers are poised to […] Read more

An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Foreign workers to lose some travel exemptions in March

Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) travelling to Canada won’t need to quarantine in a government-supervised hotel when they get here – for now — but by mid-March, Ottawa will put more stringent measures in place. Starting Feb. 22, non-essential travellers and essential workers arriving in Canada will be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival. Non-essential travellers […] Read more