Violife’s vegan cheese-substitute lines include cheddar-style slices. (ViolifeFoods.com)

Becel maker Upfield to relocate Ontario plant

Company to make vegan cheese substitutes, other spreads at Brantford

The maker of Becel margarine, Imperial spreads and, most recently, vegan near-cheese Violife plans to boost its Canadian manufacturing capacity with a move from Toronto to Brantford, Ont. The Canadian arm of Amsterdam-based Upfield said Wednesday it has bought a 164,000-square foot industrial building at Brantford and “brings a significant investment involving the purchase of […] Read more



The cost of grain bins has risen $1 a bushel — a 25 per cent jump — in the last five years, says a provincial market analyst.

Do the math before adding more grain storage

Lots of bin space can help you wait out low prices at harvest, but the cost of storage is rising

Reading Time: 2 minutes Having more grain storage can be a big plus, but it’s not a slam dunk, says a market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Farmers in Alberta along with growers in other Prairie provinces have more grain storage than most of their worldwide competitors,” said Ryan Furtas. “However, having storage capacity can be a marketing […] Read more

Roquette’s plant-based protein products include Nutralys T70S, billed as a plant-based, texturized protein that “guarantees a unique fibrous texture and great use adaptable to several types of meat substitute” such as burger patties, chicken-type filets and sausage. (Roquette.com)

Plant-based protein maker Roquette sees short-term COVID-19 impact

Demand could accelerate second Canadian plant

Paris | Reuters — The plant-based protein market has seen a slowdown in new product launches and lower sales in restaurants and cafeterias due to COVID-19 but benefited from more people cooking at home and trying new products, French manufacturer Roquette said. The market for plant-based protein such as meat-free burgers has surged in the […] Read more


Lab trials of a manure-derived seed treatment have usually shown increased root growth (as seen on the right) as well as better resistance to environmental stressors.

Happy accident: Researchers discover promising new seed treatment

How it works is still a mystery, but new compound boosts germination, root development, and resistance

Reading Time: 5 minutes Good things generally don’t happen by accident in science — they’re the result of countless hours of trial and error, replication and peer review. However, University of Saskatchewan researchers may be looking at the closest thing to a scientific miracle: A natural seed treatment that increases germination in just about any crop you can name, […] Read more

(4loops/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: Peas, lentils see some strength

Lentil trade watching India

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea and lentil markets have shown some post-harvest strength in recent weeks, with good offshore demand providing support. “On the yellow pea side, it’s China, and on lentils, it’s basically India,” Marcos Mosnaim, of Globeways Canada, said of the strength in both markets. Yellow peas are currently trading as high as $7.50 […] Read more


(Photo: Alexandrum79/iStock/Getty Images)

Statistics Canada trims wheat production estimate

Lentil crop estimate up from August

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers grew less wheat in 2020-21 than earlier thought, according to updated production estimates Statistics Canada released Monday. However, the country’s wheat crop would still be the second-largest on record and well above the five-year average. Using yield models based on satellite imagery, total wheat production in the country for 2020-21 is […] Read more

(Serts/iStock/Getty Images)

StatsCan stocks report shows lower lentils, durum, canola

Lentil supply picture 'extremely tight'

MarketsFarm — Statistics Canada’s stocks of principal field crops report detailed tight ending stocks for lentils durum and canola. As of July 31, lentil stocks totalled just 61,000 tonnes, down by 91.5 per cent from last year. Exports were up by over 30 per cent year-over-year, which accounted for some of the decrease. “It’s an […] Read more


File photo of a pea crop south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Large Canadian crops expected

MarketsFarm — Canada will have grown a record-large pea crop in 2020 and possibly the second-largest lentil crop ever, according to preliminary estimates from Statistics Canada, released Monday. Using satellite imagery and model-based yield estimates, the government agency pegged the 2020-21 Canadian field pea crop at 4.996 million tonnes. That would be a new record […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Wheat crop to be second-largest on record, StatsCan predicts

Canola estimate at lower end of trade predictions

MarketsFarm — Canada’s farmers will have grown their second-largest wheat crop on record in 2020, according to the first production estimates of the year from Statistics Canada, as released Monday. The government agency pegged total wheat production in the country for 2020-21 at 35.74 million tonnes, up 10.5 per cent on the year and second […] Read more