Canada’s temporary foreign worker (TFW) program is set to give farms a head start in an express lane expected to cut the annual paperwork for that program’s most “trusted employers.” Federal Employment and Workforce Development Minister Randy Boissonault last week launched a three-year pilot meant to “help to address labour shortages and reduce the administrative […] Read more
Pilot plan to cut red tape for reliable TFW employers
Farm employers can apply starting next month
Pulse weekly outlook: Chickpea market neither bullish nor bearish
Market players awaiting harvest
MarketsFarm — Hot and dry growing conditions earlier in the growing season cut into Canada’s chickpea yields in 2023-24, but quality should be good if the weather co-operates through the harvest. Canadian farmers planted 315,600 acres of chickpeas in 2023, which was well above the 233,800 acres seeded the previous year, according to Statistics Canada […] Read more
Canada’s record-setting wildfires could persist for rest of ‘marathon’ summer
Country's fires account for over a quarter of world's carbon for 2023
Ottawa | Reuters — Record-setting wildfires in Canada could potentially continue burning at an abnormally high rate for several more weeks, though the spread of blazes is likely to start diminishing in September, according to federal projections released on Friday. Forest fires have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: canola market heading towards choppy waters
Markets will pause to see how the crops finish developing: analyst
Marketsfarm – While the recent gains in canola on the Intercontinental Exchange were likely generated by the spreaders, the market will probably become choppy, according to Ken Ball, trader with PI Financial in Winnipeg, Man. “Spreaders for the last few days have been selling canola and buying soyoil,” Ball suggested in a July 26 interview, […] Read more
Pressure increases on farmland
CAPI report highlights what’s needed to save farmland while increasing production and protecting the environment
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ensuring Canada remains an agricultural powerhouse requires concerted efforts to preserve the country’s natural capital and resources, particularly farmland, according to a recent Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) report. With long-term planning, the pressures affecting agricultural productivity and farmland loss in Canada can be navigated, bringing greater prosperity and environmental improvement at home, as well […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: C$900 per tonne in reach for canola
Black Sea deal's end, Russian attack on Odesa, pushing all prices up
MarketsFarm – Sporadic rainfall across the Prairies has not been enough to stop canola’s upward momentum during the week ended July 19, while a pair of other factors are fueling the oilseed’s rise. The November canola contract went from settling below the C$800 per tonne mark (C$797.50/tonne) on July 12 to exceeding the C$850 mark […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Canola climbs on weather worries
Demand rationing also seen as supportive
MarketsFarm — The ICE Futures canola market moved steadily higher during the week ended Wednesday, hitting its strongest levels in more than four months as bullish chart signals and production uncertainty across the Prairies provided support. A bearish reaction in the Chicago soy complex to the latest supply/demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of […] Read more
Much of Canada abnormally dry or in moderate drought
Southern Ontario among exceptions
MarketsFarm — In a stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, a wide swath of Canada was contending with dryness, according to the latest report from the Canadian Drought Monitor. As of June 30, about 60 per cent of the country was abnormally dry to being in a moderate drought, with 76 per cent […] Read more
NAFTA meeting to skirt major disputes, U.S. trade rep says
Dairy, corn, energy issues to be discussed via separate channels
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s meetings with North American trade partners Canada and Mexico this week will not delve deeply into major disputes over Mexico’s biotech corn and energy policies nor Canadian dairy access, a senior USTR official said on Wednesday. The annual meeting of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) Free Trade […] Read more
Dry, hot Canadian summer expected
Normal precip expected for Ontario, Quebec
MarketsFarm — Warmer-than-normal temperatures are expected across all of Canada for the next three months, with average precipitation in most of the agricultural areas of the Prairies. That’s according to the latest long-range seasonal forecast from Environment Canada, released Friday. The government department calls for a 50-70 per cent chance of above-normal temperatures from July […] Read more