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Quinoa production improves in 2022-23

Yields swing closer to average level

MarketsFarm — Compared to last year, Canada’s 2022-23 quinoa harvest has significantly improved, with yields exceeding expectations, according to Michael Dutcheshen of Saskatoon-based NorQuin. “Last year was a tough year for Canadian farmers for all crops, with quinoa no exception. This year is looking a lot more positive. We seem to have missed the hot […] Read more

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Pulse weekly outlook: Canada’s pea, lentil exports to rise while prices fall

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea and lentil exports should see considerable increases during the 2022-23 marketing year after drought cut into available supplies in 2021-22, according to the latest supply/demand production from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). However, total movement may still come in well below five-year averages. Canadian pea exports are forecast at 2.7 million […] Read more


Cannabis plants at a licensed indoor production facility in Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada to review impact of cannabis legalization four years on

Review will also look at regulatory challenges in pot sector

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Thursday launched a review of the country’s legalization of recreational cannabis use four years ago to evaluate its impact on youth, Indigenous minorities and others, and analyze its effect on the economy and the illegal marijuana market. Canada became the first developed nation to legalize use of recreational marijuana […] Read more

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu circles back in Western Canada

All western provinces book new cases in commercial birds

A relatively quiet summer for highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada has turned for the worse, with outbreaks on commercial poultry farms in all four western provinces in the past week alone. Cases of high-path avian flu in domestic birds in Canada confirmed and reported by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency since Aug. 31 include: […] Read more


FCL’s Co-op Fertilizer Terminal at Brandon. (Photo courtesy Federated Co-operatives Ltd.)

Canada can cut fertilizer emissions 14 per cent by 2030, industry groups say

Report touts use of 4R practices

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from applying nitrogen fertilizer by 14 per cent by 2030 through adoption of more sustainable farm practices and new technology, without any overall reduction in fertilizer use, agriculture industry groups said on Wednesday. Such reductions of nitrous oxide from 2020 levels would fall well […] Read more

The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 28, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Canada, China agree to suspend WTO canola dispute

Lifting of canola ban renders case moot

Berlin | Reuters — Canada and China have agreed to suspend proceedings against Chinese measures affecting the importation of Canadian canola seed, according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint on Thursday. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) panel suspended its work as of Tuesday, the complaint said. Work can be suspended at any time […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Greater crop production estimated prior to StatCan report

Extended time lag between survey, data's release criticized

MarketsFarm — Analysts are expecting Canadian crop production totals for the 2022-23 marketing year to be substantially higher compared to drought-stricken 2021-22, but still not enough to fully replenish supplies. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will publish its first satellite image model-based yield and production estimates for principal field crops on Monday. Traders and analysts are interested […] Read more

File photo of fresh cherries purchased from an orchard’s roadside stand at Penticton, B.C. (Amy Mitchell/iStock/Getty Images)

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



Wreckage of wheat silos at Lebanon’s Port of Beirut following an explosion at the port on Aug. 4, 2020. (Hiba Kallas/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada seeks to boost foreign aid for food security

Grain traffic out of Ukraine not yet easing crisis

Amman | Reuters — An international food crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine war has spurred Canada to boost an over $6 billion annual foreign aid budget to help the most hard-hit countries in Africa and the Middle East, Canada’s aid minister said on Thursday. “The Ukraine crisis is creating shock waves when it comes to […] Read more