Davos, Switzerland | Reuters — Norwegian fertilizer giant Yara says donors urgently need to close the U.N.’s $10 billion food programme funding gap to avoid a catastrophe as sanctions on Russian fertilizers and Ukraine’s grain export problems have created an extreme global shock. “The world has realized that food can be a weapon and it […] Read more
Fertilizer maker Yara says world faces extreme food supply shock
Sanctions cut global fertilizer supply 15 per cent, company says
Wastewater regulation eased for Nova Scotia on-farm processing
Nova Scotia has introduced regulatory changes that allow on-farm processing operations to better manage wastewater on their smaller scale. The changes, which took effect May 11, come at the request of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) — which has said that owners of small farm-level processing facilities shouldn’t be treated the same as […] Read more
Online platform opens windows to ag scene
Reading Time: < 1 minute What is smart ag? How have food systems changed over time? What is food democracy? These and other questions are explored in an online learning platform called Project Agriculture, an initiative started by the province’s supply-managed farm groups and which is now being bolstered by Alberta’s big four crop commissions. “The program allows students and […] Read more
Field peas are the latest Alberta crop to be distilled into a spirit
Reading Time: 4 minutes If Alberta’s malt barley can be transformed into craft beer and its rye into premium whisky, why not field peas? That’s the question that Faaiza Ramji asked herself early in the pandemic as she explored ways to use more Alberta-grown crops in locally processed foods and drinks. “I was disappointed to learn that we grow […] Read more
Worsening global food security needs Ukraine, Russia production, UN chief says
Abuja | Reuters — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday the problem of global food security could not be solved without restoring Ukrainian agricultural production and Russian food and fertilizer output to the world market. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February has added to volatility in financial markets, sending commodity prices higher and affecting logistics, […] Read more
Farming behind the lines: Ukraine’s farmers sow amidst wreckage
Despite their best efforts, however, famine looms as war rages
In early April, Ukrainian soldiers expelled the Russian invaders from the northern regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions. The wounded enemy left, leaving behind burned-out war machines and the unburied corpses of his soldiers. However, the invaders managed to do a lot of damage. Many of you are probably aware of the atrocities […] Read more
There’s a lesson in ‘buttergate’ for all farmers, says food writer
Julie Van Rosendaal’s tweet ignited a controversy but the issue shows ‘people are paying attention’
Reading Time: 5 minutes Julie Van Rosendaal spent a lot of time last year thinking about butter. And then she got a lot of people talking about it. Last February, the Calgary-based cook and food writer found herself wondering why butter she was using was firmer than expected at room temperature and harder to spread. “I started buying butter […] Read more
Changes to TFW program to expand worker availability
Workplace LMIAs now valid for 18 months
The federal government is boosting the availability of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to ag and other understaffed sectors under a list of policy changes announced Monday. Employment and Workforce Development Minister Carla Qualtrough announced what’s called the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program Workforce Solutions Road Map, which the government said “marks the next step in […] Read more
Food, farming, forestry must be transformed to curb global warming, UN says
Earlier draft of panel report called for reduced intake of meat
Reuters — Protecting forests, changing diets, and altering farming methods could contribute around a quarter of the greenhouse gas cuts needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change, according to the United Nations’ climate panel. But the changes are unlikely to happen unless governments act to spur them along, the report from the Intergovernmental […] Read more
Ukraine war already impacting food security, U.N. agency warns
London | Reuters — The war in Ukraine is already resulting in rising food prices and a shortage of staple crops in parts of central Asia, the Middle East and north Africa, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said on Thursday. The Russian invasion of Ukraine last month has severely curtailed shipments […] Read more
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