United Nations | Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he is in “intense contact” with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the United States and the European Union in an effort to restore Ukrainian grain export as a global food crisis worsens. “I am hopeful, but there is still a way to go,” said […] Read more

U.N. chief in talks on restoring Ukraine grain exports
Contact made amid global food crisis

Pulse weekly outlook: Still early in season to switch crops
Decisions likely in next couple of weeks
MarketsFarm — With dry conditions dominating western and southwestern Saskatchewan and wet conditions prominent in the province’s east and northeast, at mid-May it remained early to consider switching pulse crops to something else, according to Carl Potts, executive director of Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. Overall, he said, spring planting throughout the province as of May 9 […] Read more

Eastern Prairies’ wet conditions may curb insect pest risk
Late-seeded crops may germinate more quickly in warmer soils
MarketsFarm — If there could be one benefit to the excessive moisture across much of southern Manitoba and the Interlake region, that would be a potentially reduced risk for insect pests, according to John Gavloski, entomologist for Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Resource Development. For example, Gavloski cited flea beetles, which could damage canola. “If [canola] […] Read more

Schoepp: Our ag sector is a powerhouse but transport woes hold it back
Farmers are paying a big price because transportation infrastructure is not what it should be
Reading Time: 3 minutes Trains, planes and trucks are in constant motion to move Canadian agricultural commodities and value-added products across our massive country to ports for distribution around the world. Our farmers depend on a functioning infrastructure that includes road, rail and the sea. The more interruptions there are to the smooth and timely flow of goods, the […] Read more

Mildew scrapped as grading factor for No. 3 wheats
Grading changes also planned for canola admixture, splits in peas, excreta in mustard
The Canadian Grain Commission will change its standard samples for mildew in No. 1 and No. 2 wheats, and drop it as a grading factor for No. 3 wheats, effective this summer. The CGC on Monday laid out a list of changes to its grain grading policies and standards for wheat, canola, peas, beans and […] Read more

Pulse weekly outlook: Late Prairie seeding may sway acres out of peas
MarketsFarm — Excessive moisture in the eastern Canadian Prairies this spring may cut into pea acres in the region, as producers like to get the crop in the ground early. Canadian farmers intended to plant 3.55 million acres of peas for the 2022-23 crop year, according to a report from Statistics Canada. That would be […] Read more

Trudeau pledges help for Ukraine to find options to export grain
Turkey's co-operation seen as important, Joly says
Kyiv | Reuters — Canada will help Ukraine work out options on how to export stored grain to address global food security that has been shaken by Russia’s invasion of the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said late on Sunday. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine, unable to leave the country […] Read more

Ukraine calls for moves to unblock ports, prevent global food crisis
Russia has mounted a blockade of Ukrainian ports
Kyiv | Reuters — Ukraine’s president called on the international community on Monday to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of his country’s ports to allow wheat exports and prevent a global food crisis. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his comments in an online post after speaking to European Council President Charles Michel, who […] 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

Farming behind the lines: Growers in Ukraine plant amid hostilities close by
'We started the sowing campaign by removing rockets from the field'
Viktor and Sergiy Shipov are used to adversity. Viktor established a farming company in southern Ukraine 20 years ago, in the Mykolaiv Oblast, where hellish heat and lack of rainfall can make the land look like the Sahara Desert with yellow dunes. This is a corner of the classic Ukrainian steppe, where rainfall is very […] Read more