Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Earlier this year, McCain Foods quietly purchased a little-known firm called Resson. Ten years ago, the news that a food company had bought a predictive crop technology company might have raised a few eyebrows. In McCain’s case, many may have wondered why a company known for its frozen french fries would want […] Read more
Opinion: Food companies are looking over farmers’ shoulders
Cost used to be king when companies sourced ingredients, but they’re increasingly focused on how they’re grown
Crop merchant Bunge raises full-year profit outlook
Agricultural commodities trader Bunge Ltd BG.N on Wednesday raised its full-year earnings outlook after posting an adjusted third-quarter profit that topped expectations, sending its shares up about 2 per cent in premarket trading. The improved forecast was attributed to favorable market conditions as tight global crop supplies and strong demand have benefited supply chain middlemen […] Read more
India allows exports of wheat flour processed from imported grain
New Delhi | Reuters — India has allowed export-oriented units and the firms set up in special economic zones to export flour made from imported wheat, a government order said on Friday, conceding to the demands of food processors to allow shipments of value-added products. India will allow food processors to import duty-free wheat against […] Read more
Haiti gang blockade causing catastrophic hunger, U.N. says
Situation "close to breaking point," WFP rep says
Miami | Reuters — Haitians are experiencing catastrophic hunger because of gangsters blockading a major fuel terminal, U.N. officials said on Friday, with more than four million facing acute food insecurity. A coalition of gangs has prevented the distribution of diesel and gasoline for over a month to protest a plan to cut fuel subsidies. […] Read more
Sustainability is a challenge that continues to evolve
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jenaya Roseboom is the senior winner of this year’s Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition. The 20-year-old lives on a dairy farm near Rimbey, and in her speech, she addressed the question: Is local food sustainable? There is no simple answer to this question. In agriculture, sustainability is a complex issue that has many parameters […] Read more
Conagra tops profit, sales estimates even as consumers turn thrifty
Reuters — Conagra Brands beat quarterly sales and profit estimates on Thursday, boosted by higher prices for its Marie Callender’s and Slim Jim brands even as consumer demand wanes under the weight of decades-high inflation. Global food companies have been increasing prices over the past year to shield profit margins, which have been squeezed by […] Read more
‘Let’s give this a whirl’ – a farmers’ market can be a rewarding sideline
Reading Time: 4 minutes A central Alberta grain and cattle producer is sharing what it takes to add a farmers market sideline to a busy commercial farming operation. Double J Crop and Cattle is a third-generation family cattle and grain farm near Rimbey. In addition to beef (they have 300 head of cattle), they sell pork, poultry and lamb […] Read more
Nearly a million people face starvation in hunger hotspots, U.N. agencies report
London | Reuters — Nearly one million people in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen are starving or will face starvation this year in the absence of aid, as the global food crisis worsens, United Nations agencies warned on Wednesday. Local conflict and weather extremes remain the primary drivers of acute hunger, aggravated this […] Read more
Produce prices spike in flood-hit Pakistan as food crisis looms
Flooding wrecks crops, hampers logistics
Lahore | Reuters — Vegetable and fruit prices have soared in markets across Pakistan as devastating rains ruin crops and disrupt supplies, an early sign of how the worst floods in decades are creating food shortages at a time of financial crisis. Pakistan’s 220 million people are already facing rampant inflation, with consumer prices up […] Read more
Cold and hungry: Food inflation bites Canada’s North
'It's really expensive to do business here'
Iqaluit | Reuters –– In Canada’s remote North, residents have long paid dearly for food, and rising prices have worsened an already dire situation, exposing the vulnerability of one of the world’s biggest exporters of grains and meat. Communities in Nunavut — the largest of the three territories that make up Canada’s northernmost region — […] Read more
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